UNIVERSITY of the East-Cherrylume salvaged ninth place in the Philippine Super Liga Invitational Conference, defeating Cocolife, 22-25, 26-24, 25-19, 21-25, 22-20, on Thursday at The Arena in San Juan.
Mary Anne Mendrez led the way for UE with a game-high 27 points and 28 digs, while Juliet Catindig added 18, Judith Abil had 13 and Mariella Gabarda chipped in 11.
It was a huge finish for UE-Cherrylume, which went winless in the preliminary round, and head coach Rod Roque is mighty pleased to avoid finishing in the bottom of the 10-team field.
“‘Yung huling game namin ibinigay na nila ang todo nila,” said Roque.
“Noong sumali kami ang aim namin hindi manalo, ang aim namin (is to) gain experience, learn from the senior players. (‘Yung) strategy, mind set, ‘yung thinking nila, ‘yung communication nila, ‘yun ang pinapa-observe ko sa kanila exposure in preparation for UAAP,” he added.
Justine Tiu and Gyra Barroga each had 15 points for Cocolife, while Alexandra Tan added 13.