By: Rom Anzures
College of St. Benilde (CSB) started its campaign in the NCAA Season 98 Men’s Volleyball Tournament with a dominating win against San Sebastian College-Recolletos, 25-17, 25-20, 25-18, Saturday at San Andres Sports Complex.
Georgie Gauani led the team with nine points, which included seven attacks, a block, and an ace. Roniey Adviento also scored nine points and added two blocks.
Ryan Daculan contributed seven points, including a crucial attack and a service ace that widened the lead to 19-14 in the closing set.
Despite the win, CSB head coach Arnold Laniog acknowledged that his team still has some areas for improvement.
“Well happy naman dahil nanalo pero we have a lot of things pa to work on. Siguro we’ll work more on sa consistency ng attack namin,” said Laniog.
Coach Laniog also revealed that while most of its roster is still intact coming from their Season 95 Campaign, it is with their preparations for this season that became a challenge for his squad.
“Yung nung pag-balik namin ng face-to-face (practices) last September, medyo na-delay kaya naghabol kami sa conditioning,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Kyle Villamor was the top scorer for San Sebastian with 17 points, which included 16 attacks and an ace. Despite Villamor’s efforts, his team failed to keep up with CSB’s momentum throughout the match.
In the next game, Arellano University started their campaign with a win against Jose Rizal University. After losing the first set 22-25, the Chiefs bounced back and won the next three sets with scores of 25-17, 25-20, and 26-24.
The Heavy Bombers started strong in the second set, leading 7-4 early on, but Carl Berdal’s attack helped the Chiefs start a run that allowed them to overtake JRU, 11-10, and outscore them, 14-7, to win the second set. This momentum carried over into the third set, which Arellano won comfortably.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams tied at 24. However, JRU’s Matthew Miguel missed a crucial attack that would have given his team the lead, and Windel Laurenciana also failed to hit the Chief’s blockers in the following possession, allowing Arellano to seal the win.
Berdal was the top scorer for the Chiefs with 27 points and 24 attacks, while Kim Vincent Tan added 10 points.
On the other hand, Laurenciana still managed to score 13 points for the Heavy Bombers, with 11 attacks.
