San Beda easily dismisses Perpetual, forging a tie at 5-2 and opening up hope for those in the lower part of the standings. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
There wasn’t a trace of celebration on Friday after St. Benilde formally made it to the NCAA women’s volleyball semifinals. Assistant coach Jay Chua said the Lady Blazers are already thinking of the next two games.
“Our mind-set is playing with the same focus in our last two games,” said Chua, who was in a hurry as he fielded postgame questions from the media room doorway at Filoil Flying V Centre.
“We have to finish the eliminations strong and sustain the level of our game,” Chua added.
He was drawing from a bad experience.
St. Benilde topped the eliminations last season with an 8-1 record. But it ended up missing the finals after Perpetual shattered its twice-to-beat protection on the way to a stunning reversal.
The Lady Blazers’ only defeat in the elimination round then came at the hands of eventual champions Arellano Lady Chiefs who, this season, happen to be their final assignment before the playoffs begin.
“We can’t afford to relax at this point,” Chua added. “We have to be at a high level always.”
Their level was good enough to crush Jose Rizal, 25-22, 25-13, 25-20, for its seventh straight win.
After that match, San Beda broke Perpetual’s five-game winning streak after a stunning 25-20, 25-19, 25-16 victory that has huge semifinal implications. San Beda reeled in Perpetual into a tie at 5-2, opening a window for the likes of Letran and Lyceum to make a last push for the semifinals.
The Lady Knights tackle the Lady Bombers on Monday hoping to keep its slim hopes of making the semifinals afloat.
Meanwhile, St. Benilde head coach Jerry Yee got to experiment with his first and second units, giving everybody in the squad valuable playing time.
Rookie hotshots Gayle Pascual and Mycah Go sat out the entire third set along with the starters. They scored eight points each.
“I think that’s a better setup so everyone can contribute,” said Chua of Yee’s decision. “It only shows how confident we are with our players that they can play their roles.”
Sure enough, Yee didn’t bother to send back his starters when the Lady Bombers were mounting a rally in the third.
Jose Rizal saw its two-game winning streak cut and slid to 3-5.