Benilde, Letran face off anew for NCAA Season 100 women's volleyball crown
NCAA
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and Colegio de San Juan de Letran are back in the NCAA women's volleyball finals stage as both teams eye the centennial season title.
The Lady Blazers hope to take home the crown for the fourth straight season despite experiencing a relatively challenging season.
In the past three seasons that Benilde won the title, the Taft-based squad never lost a single game en route to the title. This season, however, the Lady Blazers' 43-game winning streak was cut by none other than Letran in the first round. Benilde also fell to Mapua University at the end of the first round.
However, the Lady Blazers seemed to have returned to their championship form just in time as they swept the second round and dispatched Mapua University in the Final Four.
For head coach Onyok Getigan, this will be a different season for them, especially with the likes of Mich Gamit, Gayle Pascual, and Cloanne Mondoñedo not playing for Benilde anymore. However, veteran Mycah Go and players like Zam Nolasco, Wielyn Estoque, and Chenae Basarte are ready to dance in the finals again.
"Kung titingnan mo, wala na mga senior namin last time, malaking factor 'yun. Ang maganda ngayon, madaling mag-step up yung mga natira, pati rookies," Getigan said.
The Lady Knights, meanwhile, eye to rewrite history.
In Season 99, Letran was swept by Benilde in the finals. Now, they have a chance to exact revenge against their tormentors.
Letran head coach Oliver Almadro, however, said they have to be "better than our best" in facing a formidable team like Benilde.
"As I'm always saying, Benilde is a strong team. They're well-coached, they have a deep bench, we really have to find a way with what we have and somehow [have] a flawless game," Almadro said.
"'Yung skills and stats mas malalaki sila eh. Panghahawakan namin 'yung last game and last year to fuel us to give the best performance na kailangan namin kasi results will take care of itself."
Aside from veteran libero Lara Silva and last year's top freshman Gia Maquilang, the Intramuros-based crew now has Vanessa Sarie who recently broke the NCAA scoring record with her 37-point output against Arellano University in the second round.
Benilde and Letran will commence their best-of-three finals series on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
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