Colegio de San Juan de Letran and San Beda University are set to collide in the Final Four of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, while De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde aims for another finals appearance as it faces University of Perpetual Help System DALTA.
Letran and San Beda will open the semifinal action on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at the Strike Gymnasium in Bacoor, while the match between Perpetual and Benilde will follow.
The Lady Knights enter the semifinals unbeaten, riding a 14-0 winning streak, highlighted by a quarterfinal victory over San Sebastian College-Recoletos.
Letran will lean on its core of veterans, including Judiel Nitura, Nat Estreller, and Lara Mae Silva, with Vanessa Sarie providing additional support.
San Beda, meanwhile, bounced back from an opening quarterfinal loss to Mapua University. Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the Lady Red Spikers eliminated the Lady Cardinals to secure their first Final Four appearance in seven years.
Angel Habacon and Janelle Bachar have emerged as key leaders for San Beda under new head coach Kungfu Reyes.
Similar to San Beda’s path, Perpetual dropped its quarterfinal opener against Emilio Aguinaldo College but recovered to advance to the semifinals. The Lady Altas posted an 11-2 record in Group A during the preliminaries, while Benilde followed closely at 10-3. The two teams split their head-to-head matchups in the elimination round.
Benilde is eyeing its fifth consecutive finals appearance and is also in pursuit of a fifth straight championship. The Lady Blazers will rely on veterans Clydel Catarig and Zam Nolasco, along with rookie Cam Bartolome.
Perpetual, on the other hand, will be led by Cy Almeniana and Shai Omipon as it looks to break through to the finals.
In the men’s division, Letran will face Benilde, while Arellano University will take on Mapua University in the semifinals.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
