Lady Stags charge back in five-set thriller  

MANILA, Philippines — San Sebastian College-Recoletos turned to team captain Juna Gonzales in the closing stretch of the deciding set to complete a reverse sweep of Emilio Aguinaldo College, 16-25, 18-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-6, in the 2026 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Unity Cup on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Gonzales scored five of the Lady Stags’ 9-0 sizzler to finish off a stunned Lady Generals side for a good start in Pool C of the league’s centerpiece competition, backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner and R&B Milk Tea.   Tied at 6 in the deciding frame, Gonzales opened SSC-R’s barrage with a thunderous kill. EAC had no answer to the Lady Stags’ assault as Gonzales continued to pound missiles capped by a hit that put SSC-R at match point. Lady Stags setter Patrixia Abulencia sealed the match with a well-timed kill block over Shamira Pantoja. Gonzales scored all of her 19 points on kills and added four digs for SSC-R.  Kleiner Abraham finished with 13 points while middle blocker Marianne Tayag got 12 markers on nine attacks and three kill blocks for the Lady Stags, whose victory in the two-hour, 25-minute encounter was aided by EAC’s 33 errors. SSC-R saved...