NEW guest players Rachel Anne Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga had little trouble adjusting to FEU’s plays in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 win over College of St. Benilde on Sunday at The Arena in San Juan that brought them within a win of the semifinals of the V-League Season 11 First Conference.
Brought in a few days ago to replace Toni Basas and Gyzelle Sy, former conference MVP Gonzaga and former Finals MVP Daquis made an immediate impact and scored 10 points each as FEU finished the match in just 68 minutes.
Bernadette Pons led the Lady Tamaraws with 17 points and Mary Palma added 12.
FEU coach Shaq de los Santos said he felt the team did fine in the first group stage but changing reinforcements would boost their chances of getting through the quarterfinals.
“Kaya namin naisipan magpalit ng guest player kasi sayang naman ’yung opportunity na puwede namin makuha,” said De los Santos.
“Good thing pumayag 'yung dalawa maglaro sa amin. Nakapalaking bagay sa amin noon.”
Daquis and Gonzaga attended practice on Thursday and the former also managed to join the squad’s training session on Saturday.
The Morayta-based Lady Tamaraws are now 1-1 in Group II, tied with Arellano in second spot. They need to win against the Lady Chiefs on Tuesday to move up to the semifinals.
Jannine Navarro and team captain Therese Veronas scored 11 points apiece for St. Benilde, which dropped to 0-2.
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