SHOWING their championship pedigree, the Army Lady Troopers handed the PLDT Ultra Fast Spikers a 14-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22 loss in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals in the Shakey’s V-League on Thursday at the Arena in San Juan.
The win put the Lady Troopers within a victory away from hoisting yet another title.
Dindin Santiago-Manabat was her reliable self with 16 points highlighted by three blocks, the same output as MVP Jovelyn Gonzaga, who also had seven digs.
Nene Bautista added nine, Royse Tubino had eight while Mary Jean Balse pitched in seven to help Army overcome a lopsided first-set loss and take the next three and earn the win in spite of the one-point performance of ace Rachel Anne Daquis, who played only in the first two sets.
It was Army’s first win over the young but talent-laden PLDT crew in three meetings this conference but it came at the most opportune time.
Alyssa Valdez led PLDT with 25 while Jaja Santiago, the younger sister of Dindin, added 11.