Nine in a row for the Lady Chiefs!
It was the Arellano University’s and College of Saint Benilde’s semifinal clash of history — the Lady Chiefs were desperately running away from repeating last season’s outcome, while the Lady Blazers chased the same magic that sent them to the Finals year.
In the end, the Arellano Lady Chiefs slayed their demons, coming back from a 1-2 set deficit to slam the door on Saint Benilde’s Cinderalla run with a classic 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-13, 15-9, encounter in the NCAA Season 92 stepladder Final Four.
The Lady Blazers had come away with a decisive straight-set win to spoil Arellano’s Season 91. At the start of the match, it seemed Saint Benilde were on their way to a similar result. But the Lady Chiefs won the battle of adjustment and forced a fifth frame. With momentum on their side, AU bolted to a 5-1 lead in the decider. But the defending champs did not die easily, tying the match at 7-7 after several Arellano miscues.
From there, the Lady Chiefs knew what to do. Sticking to their game plan, Arellano attacked the weak points in Saint Benilde’s defense and stifled their offense that had to go without star Jeanette Panaga for the last stretch of the match. The Lady Chiefs claimed the match in an epic 6-1 blaze.
“Malaking pasalamat namin sa Benilde kasi sobrang ganda ng laban na binigay nila sa amin. Sinabi ko lang talaga sa mga bata namin na nandito na tayo para manalo, hindi lang para maglaro. ‘Yung nakita niyo noong huling dalawang set, ‘yun din ‘yung ineensayo namin kaya magada para sa amin,” said Arellano mentor Obet Javier.
The Lady Chiefs pulled 17 and 16 points, respectively, from their two open hitters Jovielyn Prado and Regine Arocha. But the Lady Chiefs’ offense was highlighted by CSB’s 44 errors.
The Lady Chiefs move on to the the Finals, where they will face a thrice-to-beat San Sebastian College-Recoletos Lady Stags. Arellano lost to San Sebatian in the elimination round in five sets on opening day.
In her final NCAA match, Panaga threw down 22 points, while Ranya Musa, Angela Enginco, and Rachel Austero each provided 11 markers.
The Scores
AU (3) – Prado 17, Arocha 16, Sanchez 9, Marzan 7, Sante 6, Calixto 2, Ramirez 2, Flores 0, Galang (L), Ibisa (L)
CSB (2) – Panaga 22, Daguil 13, Austero 11, Enginco 11, Musa 11, Cardiente 1, Dolorito 1, Santillan 1, Lim 0, Torres (L)
