In what could be a Season 72 championship preview, the Lady Spikers and the Tigresses will face off to cap the elimination round before an expected full-house crowd on Sunday.
Earlier on that day, the Green Spikers will try to formally cement its footing in the men’s semis as they clash with Ateneo. Both teams are tied at 7-6 and the winner will grab the 3rd seed in the Final Four.
Though both teams are already assured of the top 2 positions in the semis, the Lady Spikers and Tigresses are still expected to give it their all in this Valentine’s Day/Chinese New Year Showdown. The Lady Spikers are gunning for a rare elimination round sweep while the Tigresses are out to avenge their first round loss and of course stop La Salle in bringing out the brooms.
“Hindi namin iniisip yung sweep, hindi kami pine-pressure ng school management about it. We all just wanted to win,” said La Salle mentor Ramil de Jesus.
The Lady Spikers first achieved a rare double-round elimination sweep in 2004, where they became the outright champions. In a revised playoff format which the league instituted four years ago, a team who completed a 14-game eliminations sweep will still go thru the semis.
The Lady Spikers had a dandy of a time with rest of the opposition all season but they will most likely have their hands full against the Tigresses. In their previous encounter, La Salle struggled in the early stages but was still able to pull through for a 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11 close-shave win over the reigning V-league champions.
Will our volleybelles reaffirm its dominance this season or will UST welcome the year of the Tiger with a victory?
This coming Sunday, expect no love lost between these two teams – just plenty of fireworks.
Some excerpts courtesy of phspike.com
