Arocha admits Arellano ‘relaxed’ in near meltdown

Arellano University’s history this NCAA Season 93 with San Beda isn’t that memorable at all.

Prior to meeting in the finals, the two teams played just three sets in the elimination round with the Lady Chiefs winning convincingly.

So when the Lady Red Spikers pushed the defending champions to five sets in the first game of the championship round, the Lady Chiefs were put in an unfamiliar predicament.

Luckily for them, their championship pedigree shone through as they held fort in the fifth set.

“We kept telling each other that this game is ours, if we want to win we should really have that desire to come out on top,” said Regine Arocha in Filipino Friday at Filoil Flying V Centre. “No one let go of this game, we played with all our heart, and we trusted each other.

The Lady Chiefs came out firing at the start of the match and won the first two sets but the Lady Red Spikers managed to fight back in the ensuing sets to force a decider.

And after a 6-6 stalemate at the start of the fifth, Arellano ran amuck and went on a 9-0 run to take the match, 25-15, 25-16, 15-25, 22-25, 15-6.

“We relaxed, and that’s why San Beda was able to catch up,” said Arocha who had 14 points. “For the next game, we just have to be confident and we shouldn’t relax.”

Arellano now leads 1-0 in the best-of-three series and a win on Monday will give the Lady Chiefs their second straight title.