MANILA -- San Sebastian made a bold statement as the team-to-beat as they swept Ateneo de Manila Thursday night at the 7th Shakey’s V-League second conference at the Arena in San Juan.

Thai import Jeng Bualee led the SSC with 20 hits as the team hacked out a 25-22, 25-17 and 26-24 demolition of the Katipunan-based spikers.

Two other players also registered double figures for the Excelroof-backed team with guest player Suzanne Reyes and Melissa Mirasol, posting 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Ateneo’s Thai recruit Boonyuen Surasawadee topscored for Ateneo with 10 hits while Alyssa Valdez chipped in eight points.

SSC was catapulted to its present status as the league’s main contender after grandslam champion University of Santo Tomas begged off participation to allow its players to rest.

The school retained a clean 3-0 slate while Ateneo, Adamson and National University are tied at 2-1. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)