Lady Maroons stun Falcons, near PVL finals

MANILA, Philippines — Marian Buitre spearheaded University of the Philippines’ stirring comeback in the fourth set to hand Adamson its first loss, 26-24, 19-25, 22-25, 20-25, and close in on the first finals seat in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Collegiate Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

Buitre struck with eight points, including the off-the-block game clincher, in the Lady Maroons’ 13-2 fiery windup to erase a 12-18 deficit and complete their fightback from an opening set down to gain the headstart in their best-of-three semifinal playoff.

UP thus halted erstwhile unbeaten Lady Falcons’ seven-game win streak in the elims for the top seeding. The Lady Maroons go for the clincher on Saturday at the same venue.

Buitre punched in a game-high 25 points anchored on 23 hits, Maristela Layug produced five of the Lady Maroons’ 11 blocks and had nine attacks in her 14-point output, Roselyn Rosier swung three aces on her way to 11 points while Aie Gannaban poured in 10 markers highlighted by three blocks for UP.

“We tried our best to work on defending against their (AdU) offense. They have a pretty good offense. They have good and many combinations,” said UP coach Godfrey Okumu.

“I think our players got composed (in the fourth set). (Marian) Buitre did a very good job. Every time we get a chance ball, we use our opposite player. That’s our volleyball, to play with opposite players. It really worked well,” added Okumu.

UP averted meltdowns in the second and third sets, leaning on Gannaban, Buitre and Rosier in their strong finishes in both frames.