University of Perpetual Help System DALTA will look to keep the crown while Emilio Aguinaldo College will seek just its second title when the two schools square off in the NCAA Season 99 men's volleyball finals this Sunday.
The ALTAs and the Generals will begin their title showdown at 12:00 p.m. at the Filoil EcoOil Centre with the former set on extending their reign to four straight seasons while the latter are hoping to cap off their Cinderella run.
Perpetual swept the elimination round for the fifth straight season to earn an automatic spot in the championship round and shot at completing the school's second four-peat feat in 14 years.
Tipped to lead the charge for the wards of decorated head coach Sammy Acaylar is the reigning MVP Louie Ramirez alongside other veterans in setter JC Enarciso, middle blockers KC Andrade and Michael Medalla, and libero John Pepito as well as sophomore ace Jeff Marapoc.
Standing in their way, however, are the determined Generals.
EAC has lost just one game so far in the tournament with Ervin Osabel, Ruther Abor, and Marvin Romero picking up the scoring cudgels for head coach Rod Palmero.
The squad is hungry to grab its second title since capturing the school's breakthrough crown in 2015, when former MVP Howard Mojica steered the Generals to Season 90 throne against Benilde. EAC made the finals again the following season, this time against Perpetual. But the ALTAs spoiled EAC's back-to-back bid after outlasting the Generals in three games in Season 91.
Eight years later, EAC and Perpetual will meet again in the finals with both squads looking to rewrite history.
"We expect a good fight kasi siyempre champion team ‘yan eh, three-peat pa so bibigyan namin ng magandang laro para at least maipakita namin na kaya naming lumaban hanggang sa huli," Palmero told GMA News Online.
"‘Yung sa amin lang ay masayang-masaya kami kasi kahit papaano nakabalik rin kami sa finals after eight years. Maraming attempts before pero ngayon na lang ulit kami nakabalik so susulitin na namin.
(We expect a good fight because they are the champions for three straight seasons so we will give them a good game so that we can show at least that we can fight until the end. We're happy that we're back in the finals after eight years. There were many attempts but now, we're back so we'll maximize it.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
