Lyceum struggled against a surprisingly tough St. Benilde side but pulled off a 25-22, 25-19, 31-29 victory just the same to assure itself of a playoff for the last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 5 at The Arena in San Juan Tuesday.

Beverly Boto blasted a kill to shatter a 29-all count in the third set then Giza Yumang’s attack on the other went wide, giving the Pirates the marginal points for the win, their third straight since losing to Ateneo at the start of the single-round quarterfinal phase.

“We were a little bit overconfident but got lucky in the end,” said Lyceum coach Emil Lontoc. “I’m glad Dahlia [Cruz] and Jane [Jarin] stepped up.”

Anna Katrina Maranan (10) and Doreen Sanchez (3) of St. Benilde try to erect a decent defense against Beverly Boto of Lyceum. --NONOY LACZA

With a 3-1 card, the Pirates moved up to solo second behind the unbeaten Lady Eagles. More important, it assured them of a crack at the fourth and last semifinals seat in case another team clinches the No. 2 spot.

But Lyceum will surely go for the last semis berth Friday when it shoots for its fourth win in a row against University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, another contender with a 2-1 mark.

The third semifinals slot is a cinch for Ateneo, which is trying to make official its claim against Far Eastern University, which it played late Tuesday. Adamson and San Sebastian clinched the first two slots by topping the double-round eliminations of the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

Boto, the league’s leading scorer with a 17.6 norm, and Dahlia Cruz wound up with 14 points apiece for Lyceum, but it was Jane Jarin who sparkled with 13 hits as she led the Pirates’ charge in the third set when the Blazers refused to give up.

St. Benilde drew solid games from Yumang and Katty Kwan, who combined for 24 points, while Doreen Sanchez and Cindy Velasquez took care of the team’s defense up-front with eight blocks, three more than their rivals.

But the Pirates kept their composure at endgame to complete the straight-set win in 1:19 and keep Lyceum’s semis bid alive in the league backed by Active White skin-whitening products, Mail and More, ICT Call Center, 100Plus Energy Drink, Mikasa and Accel.

Lakers vs. Utah or Kobe vs. back spasms

UTAH’S back. Kobe Bryant says he will be, too.

A series is now a series, which meant all eyes turned to the newest Most Valuable Player as he took it easy on Monday, resting his back in lieu of risking further flare-ups of the kind that floored him a couple of times in Game Four.

Hapee needs a healthy Jervy

BAGUIO CITY—Hapee Toothpaste head coach Louie Alas knows that if his wants his team to win the 2008 Philippine Basketball League (PBL) Lipovitan Amino Sports title, he would need a healthy Jervy Cruz.

TUNE-UP games against Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams are one of the plans for the RP-Nokia Youth Team as it prepares for the Fiba-Asia Youth Championship in Tehran from August 28 to September 5.

Red Bull and Coca-Cola are looking pretty good.

The coleaders hope to keep the pressure on their closest pursuers as they wrap up their elimination-round campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)-Smart Fiesta Cup.

Lyceum struggled against a surprisingly tough St. Benilde side but pulled off a 25-22, 25-19, 31-29 victory just the same to assure itself of a playoff for the last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 5 at The Arena in San Juan Tuesday.

BAGUIO CITY—Former junior star Kat Gonzales carded an eagle-aided 54 points under the Modified Stableford scoring to put in motion Manila Southwoods-Masters’ title-retention bid in Group I of the fifth Camp John Hay (CJH) Asian Ladies Team Championship on Tuesday at the Camp John Hay Golf Club course.

SCHOOL season is just a few weeks away, and I’ve been asked so many times by concerned parents on which school to choose for their athlete-sons or daughters.