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MANILA, Philippines — Perpetual Help showed championship poise in clutch and survived a first-time finalist Arellano, 27-29, 25-13, 25-16, 21-25, 15-9, to take game one of the NCAA season 89 women’s volleyball finals Friday.
The Lady Altas managed to halt the momentum of the Lady Chiefs from a superb fourth-set showing as they pulled away, 13-6, in the decisive set to get a head start in their three-peat bid.
Head coach Sammy Alcalar had said before the best-of-three series that they have an edge in “heart and experience as defending champions,” and that definitely came into play.
Honey Royse Tubino showcased smarts and sheer power as she finished with 27 points, all but one from hits, to stay as the steady offensive presence for Perpetual Help.
Jamela Suyat added 14 points, including three straight early in the fifth set just before the Lady Altas went on a crippling 8-1 run, while reigning MVP Norie Jane Diaz added 13.
The Lady Chiefs had one last gasp and inched within 9-13 on efforts by Lexyl Oserio, but errors from her and Nikka Cariño handed Perpetual Help the win.
Game 2, set on Monday, is expected to be another tight showdown between two teams who split their head-to-head match-up in the elimination round.
Arellano showed up to battle and immediately showed the powerhouse Perpetual that it was not going to back down easily with a 29-27 first set win.
But the Lady Chiefs allowed the Lady Altas to dominate them in the second and third sets, only coming alive when they were backed into a corner with a 1-2 set deficit.
A 9-2 run from a 12-14 deficit gave Arellano the lead for good in the fourth set to forge a decider, though the Lady Chiefs could not carry over their momentum.
Cristine Joy Rosario had 13 points, Danna Henson, whose kill clinched the first set, added nine points. Menchie Tuberia had eight.