St. Benilde Lady Blazers Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship. –HANDOUT PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — College of St. Benilde became the last NCAA team standing in the 2024 Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship, joining seven UAAP squads in the playoff round.
St. Benilde, the three-time NCAA champion, made quick work of the also-ran San Sebastian College, 25-19, 25-18, 25-20, to end its Pool. D stint with a 2-1 record on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Wielyn Estoque powered the Lady Blazers with 11 kills with one kill block and one ace to finish with a game-high 13 points for the Lady Blazers.
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Clydel Catarig chipped in nine points including the match-clinching attack from the middle, while Cristy Ondangan and Rhea Densing added seven and six markers, respectively.
“That’s what I expect from them. This is how we operate—we teach them the right way, and composure is part of it. We’ve been in other leagues like the SSL, so I can see that they’re maturing, improving, and they’re listening,” said St. Benilde coach Jerry Yee.
St. Benilde faces the University of the East in Pool E on Sunday at the start of the second round-robin phase, where two twice-to-beat advantages in the crossover quarterfinals are at stake.
Also in Pool E are three-peat-seeking National University and De La Salle University.
READ: Shakey’s Super League: NU, La Salle with contrasting wins
Meanwhile, NU completed a four-game sweep in Pool A after dominating Arellano, 25-9, 25-12, 25-12, ahead of its much-anticipated second-round duel against rival La Salle on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Bella Belen led the Lady Bulldogs with nine points in two sets played. Vange Alinsug and Nataszha Bombita added seven points each, while Alyssa Solomon also played sparingly in the first and last sets, finishing with six points.
NU and La Salle will be clashing in the SSL for the first time since their championship series, which the former swept in the inaugural season two years ago.
The University of the Philipines, which recently announced the hiring of coach Benson Bocboc, turned to Kassandra Doering anew as she stood tall with four blocks for a game-high 10 points in their 25-13, 25-19, 25-10 sweep of Jose Rizal University.
Rookie Kianne Olango was also instrumental for the Fighting Maroons with eight points, while mainstays Niña Ytang and Irah Jaboneta added seven and six points, respectively,
UP, which finished Pool C with a 2-1 record, will be in Pool F with last year’s runner-up University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo, and Far Eastern University.
Earlier, Mapua swept University of Perpetual Help to end its SSL campaign with a 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 win in the battle of also-ran teams in Pool B.