A Clean Sweep for the Lady Knights
The second seeded Letran Lady Knights had the twice to beat advantage over the third seeded Arellano Lady Chiefs.
In Set 1, Letran had a sluggish start to begin the contest. They saw themselves having a tie game, 28 all when Gia Macquilang scored a point in her attack followed by Judiel Nitura scoring on the opposite side.
Final Score of Set 1: 30-28
Nitura and Vanessa Sarie dominated Set 2, with Nitura delivering consecutive points through a block and a spike to reach set point at 24-12. An error by Moming Padillon on the next play handed Letran the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Final Score of Set 2: 25-12
The Lady Chiefs found their rhythm in the Set 3, with Padillon redeeming herself from an earlier mistake to give the Lady Chiefs a 16-13 edge.
However, Letran responded with a 5-0 run, capitalizing on back-to-back attack errors by Sam Tiratira to reclaim an 18-16 lead.
Costly mistakes from Arellano, including a setting error by Catherine Domasig and a wide down-the-line hit from Laika Tudlasan, sealed the sweep for Letran.
Final Score of Set 3: 25-12
Judiel Nitura proved to be a vital piece in this semifinals win as she was announced as the best player of the match. She tallied a team high 17 points from her 15 attacks along with 2 blocks.
Other Lady Knights also stepped up such as their rookie, Vanessa Sarie scored 15 points. Then, Gia Macquiland also had a wonderful display of performance as she had 13 points, 7 digs and 16 receptions.
In a report of Bea Micaller of GMA Integrated News, here’s what Head Coach Oliver Almadro has to say in their win:
“We didn’t expect na masi-sweep namin ‘yung Arellano so ang mindset namin is to play hard from the start kasi alam namin na Arellano is not an easy team. Good thing that my players are prepared and they showed a strong character today.”
This season, the Letran versus Arellano matches have always been a tight battle. In Round 1, the Lady Chiefs were the ones to give the Lady Knights the first loss of the tournament. While in Round 2, it was a hard fought 5 Set win for Letran behind the heroics of Sarie as she scored 37 points.
Family Ties: Shaina Nitura in Full Support
The superstar rookie of the year awardee of the previous UAAP Season 87 was present in supporting her younger sibling in their match yesterday.
Courtesy of: NCAA Philippines
Shaina Nitura of the Adamson Lady Falcons watched her sister for the first time and indeed she was impressed by Judiel’s performance.
“Very proud din ako sa kapatid ko kase nakikita ko na gusto nilang manalo, hindi siya, actually lahat sila…Sobrang laki ng improvement nila from the last time na nanood ako sa Letran sobrang laki ng improvement nila as a team and especially sa kapatid ko. Nakita ko ang growth niya from last season sa ngayon sobrang mas naging matured siya pero marami pa siyang kailangang i-work on, alam niya yun sa sarili niya dapat hindi pakampante.” Shaina said in an interview from NCAA Philippines.
“But she’s doing great and mag continue lang talaga siya.” added by the latest member of the Alas Pilipinas National Volleyball team.
Rematch of Season 99: Blazers vs Knights
Similar to their goal last year, the Letran Lady Knights will try to stop the CSB Lady Blazers from claiming the championship.
The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde are aiming for their 4th championship in a row while Letran would try to make their own history in NCAA season 100.
Chants of “Arriba Letran!” and “Animo Benilde!” will certainly be heard across the entire arena come June 8, Sunday, when the NCAA 100 Finals begins.
