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Arellano coach Bryan Vitug keeps eyes on the prize as Chiefs peak at the right time

NCAA The Arellano Chiefs are peaking at the right time and head coach Bryan Vitug said this matters as they enter the NCAA Season 100 men's volleyball finals. Arellano is back in the finals stage after seven years and its chase for its first title continues. "Ang pinaka-main goal namin sa simula pa lang is to win a championship para sa Arellano and makilala ang men's team sa top ng volleyball," Vitug told GMA News Online. Prior to the Final Four, Arellano ended the elimination round on a four-game winning streak as the Chiefs defeated Letran, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, Emilio Aguinaldo College, and Lyceum of the Philippines University. As they clinched the third spot in the semis, they needed to beat Mapua University twice to earn the ticket to the finals. Vitug said they were aware of the lengthened schedule of the tournament and a big part of their preparations was strength and conditioning, which helped them a lot. "Naniwala kami sa pinapagawa ng S&C (strength and conditioning) namin, malaking bagay 'yung S&C namin kasi mahaba ang season na 'to. Salamat sa kanya kasi na-prepare niya nang maayos 'yung mga bata para mag-peak sa right time at walang ma-injury toward the semifinals," Vitug said. Vitug added the team's openness also helped fix their issues early. "Sobrang hirap ng pinagdaanan namin simula nung first round. Halos nagkokomprontahan kami lagi pag may talo, maraming 'di pagkakaunawaan. Pero napag-usapan naman namin, nagtulong-tulong kami mula sa bench hanggang sa whole staff," he added. The Chiefs, however, are not resting on their laurels as they also expect a tough fight against Colegio de San Juan de Letran who also seems to be peaking in time for the championship. "Expect namin talaga na hindi magiging madali sa simula pa lang kasi lahat ng team ngayon nagpe-prepare, lahat naman gusto manalo, lalo na ang Letran peaking din sila kasi galing sila sa sunod-sunod na panalo nung patapos na ang second round. Mag-prepare kami nang maayos para sa kanila," said the Arellano coach. Arellano and Letran will open their best-of-three finals series on Sunday noon at the Filoil Centre in San Juan. —JKC, GMA Integrated News