Chiefs, Altas in title clash
Arellano leaned on its solid defense to dethrone College of St. Benilde, 25-22, 28-26, 25-23, yesterday and book a championship berth in NCAA men’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Chiefs erected a solid wall from 12 blocks against the Blazers, five each from Christian Segovia and Kevin Liberato, to arrange a best-ofthree final showdown with the University of Perpetual Help Altas.
It was the first finals appearance for Arellano since 2011.
Already a point away from the finals ticket, the Chiefs survived the Blazers’ last-minute gasp after St. Benilde saved three match points for 24-23.
But a combination play originated by Christian dela Paz sealed the victory for Arellano.
Dela Paz paced AU with 15 points, including 11 hits, while Kevin Liberato added 12 points built on seven kills and five blocks.
Isaah Arda topscored with 21 points in a losing effort for St. Benilde, which felt the absence of Johnvic de Guzman throughout the season due to graduation.
Game 1 of the Finals is on Friday at the same venue.
In juniors’ play, Perpetual returned to the finals while Letran lived for another day after beating their respective rivals.
The second-seeded Junior Altas bested No. 3 Arellano Braves, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, while the fourthranked Squires shocked top seed Emilio Aguinaldo College Brigadiers, 21-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-13.
Both Perpetual and EAC enjoy twice-to-beat semis incentive, but Perpetual refused to give Arellano second chances with Noel Kampton exploding with 20 points.
Letran, which leaned on its 16 blocks, still has a shot for the other finals seat in its rubber match over EAC on Friday.