Games Thursday (The Arena, San Juan)
2 p.m. — FEU vs NU
4 p.m. — Adamson vs Ateneo
6 p.m. — SSC-Excelroof vs Lyceum

Adamson University pushed Mary Jean Balse out of her comfort zone as the Lady Falcons soared to an easy 25-15, 25-19, 25-17 victory against the Lyceum Lady Pirates and into the Final Four of the 7th Shakey’s V-League second conference late Sunday at The Arena in San Juan.

After scoring a conference-best 37 points in a five-set victory against Ateneo last time, Balse, the league's lone two-time MVP winner, was held down to just 11 points on a woeful 7-of-32 clip – no thanks to the Falcons’ unforgiving defense at the net.

“We have the advantage in almost all positions, and I think that spelled the difference,” said Adamson mentor Dulce Pante, whose team is the hottest squad in the field after extending its winning run to six games.

“We were able to neutralize their hitters with superb team defense,” she added.

Skipper Angela Benting and guest player Nerizza Bautista led the team’s assault as they fired 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Aside from securing a semis berth – its seventh since joining the league in 2006 – Adamson also tied San Sebastian-Excelroof for the lead with similar 8-2 records in the tournament backed by Mikasa, Accel, Excelroof and Shakey’s Pizza.

San Sebastian clinched its 11th semifinals stint with a straight-set 25-22, 25-9, 25-17 triumph against Far Eastern University earlier Sunday.

The Lady Pirates gained some momentum in the third set when they took a 10-8 lead after trailing 1-4. But they lost their steam, allowing the Lady Falcons to surge ahead and seal the win.

Aside from Balse, only Dahlia Cruz scored in double figures for Lyceum with 13 points in a game that took only 72 minutes to finish.

Their fourth loss in nine outings put Lyceum’s semis bid in peril as the FEU, running fifth, is just one game behind at 4-5 with still three playdates left in the single round, carry over quarters.