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[av_heading heading=’Lady Maroons snaps V-League losing skid with Laoag stunner ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – The University of the Philippines Lady Maroons kept its Final Four hopes alive in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Reinforced Conference with a 25-20, 27-25, 11-25, 25-20 win over the Laoag Power Smashers on Monday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Nicole Tiamzon led the way with 15 points, 13 coming from attacks and two aces, for the Lady Maroons, which snapped its two-game losing skid to improve to a 2-3 win-loss record.
Marian Buitre added 13 markers, on eight attacks, four blocks and an ace, while Diana Carlos contributed 10 points for the Lady Maroons, which is using the tournament to buildup for the UAAP season.
“Medyo mababa rin ang energy ng kabila naman eh. Kami we just played our game,” said Lady Maroons head coach Jerry Yee. “We still need to improve our game as the conference goes along.”
From a tight start, the Lady Maroons jumped to an early lead in the first set at 13-11 on a Kathy Bersola ace. The exchange remained close from there until the Lady Maroons pulled away late behind Bersola and Buitre.
The Lady Maroons trailed for most of the way in the second set until it inched closer to just a 24-23 deficit. But the Lady Maroons came up with back-to-back hits from Buitre for a 26-25 lead before finishing the set with a huge attack by Tiamzon.
After dropping the third set, the Lady Maroons faced a tight match in the fourth frame until it surged to a 19-15 lead. The Power Smashers came close by just two points but consecutive points from Tiamzon ended the match.
Gretchel Soltones finished with 18 points, on 17 attacks, while Aiko Urdas and Wenneth Eulalio finished with 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Power Smashers, which dropped to a 2-2 card./PN
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