Benilde teams eye outright finals tickets as NCAA volleyball Final Four opens
The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde men's and women's teams aim for their respective finals spots when the NCAA Season 100 volleyball Final Four opens on Sunday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The four-peat seeking Lady Blazers will take on Mapua University at 2:30 p.m., while the top-seeded Blazers will go against Colegio de San Juan de Letran at 12:00 p.m. Both the men's and women's teams are armed with a twice-to-beat advantage.
The Lady Blazers are coming off a second round sweep in the tournament and finished on top of the standings with a 16-2 card.
For Benilde women's team head coach Onyok Getigan, the lengthened tourney allowed the team to adjust after absorbing two losses in the first round.
"Malaking bagay 'yung haba ng liga so naka-adjust kami, nakikita 'yung lapses, then kung sino ang dapat mag-step up, nag-step up talaga," Getigan said last May 25.
Benilde still has veteran Mycah Go in its arsenal, along with the league's top blocker in Zam Nolasco and top setter Chenae Basarte. The Taft-based squad also leads in terms of spiking, serving, and setting.
The Lady Cardinals, meanwhile, are returning to the Final Four after missing it last season.
Mapua finished the elimination round with back-to-back losses to get an 11-7 record, enough for a ticket to the semis.
Mapua head coach Clarence Esteban has the likes of top scorers Raissa Ricablanca, Freighanne Garcia, and Alyanna Ong as they hope to push Benilde to the limit, just like what they did in the first round where they won against the Taft-based squad.
In the men's division, the Blazers are hoping to return to the finals -- a feat they last achieved in 2019.
The Benilde men's team finished on top of the standings with a 14-4 card, but fell short against Lyceum of the Philippines University in their final prelims match last Friday.
Head coach Arnold Laniog said his players' mindset will be really important, especially as their conditioning has been tested due to the long tourney.
"'Yung haba ng tournament na first time na nangyari, two rounds, nagkakaroon ng upset sa second round. Dulo na to eh, 'yung conditioning ang laki ng bearing. At the same time, 'yung mind setting, focused ka talaga, especially sa preparation," Laniog said.
"It's more on desire ng team, 'yung desire natin kailangan manaig talaga. Sa training pa lang, maramdaman na natin na may gusto tayong marating sa game."
Benilde will have the likes of Rocky Roy Motol, Jacob Agassi Herrera, and James Harold Marasigan to rely on.
Letran, on the other hand, has won its last three games to officially secure a Final Four spot and finished the elimination round with a 12-6 card.
The Knights, who also defeated Benilde in the first round, will have league top spiker Vince Himzon, Bembem Bautista, and John Wayne Araño in their second straight Final Four appearance.
The other brackets in the Final Four, Letran vs Arellano in the women's side, and Mapua vs Arellano in the men's division, will face off on Tuesday.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
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