College of Saint Benilde flirted with disaster, but pulled through in the clutch, escaping with 25-17, 20-25, 25-10, 25-27, and 15-12 victory over Enderun Colleges at the close of the preliminary round of the 2023 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena in Manila on Sunday.
The Lady Blazers ended the elims with a 6-1 (win-loss) slate and will take on the University of the East side in the semifinals while the Lady Titans finished their league debut with a 2-5 record.
Down 5-8 in the decider, CSB turned it around with a huge 5-0 run behind the heads-up game of skipper Clo Mondoñedo as the NCAA back-to-back champions snatched victory in one hour and 48 minutes.
“Wala naman silang ibang problema kundi and mga sarili nila. But when they gathered their wits and composure, they got back on track,” said CSB coach JP Martinez.
Jade Gentapa starred in the victory with 18 points on 16 attacks and two aces, while Gayle Pascual added 17 markers to underscore the squad’s balanced attack.
The Lady Titans drew 22 points from Erika Deloria and 21 markers from Althea Botor.
Earlier, Mapua University wrapped up its campaign with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-22 victory over San Sebastian College-Recoletos to tie Enderun’s mark.
The Lady Cardinals needed a balanced attack to end the campaign with a 2-5 win-loss record, thanks to the steady playmaking from
Setter Trixie Gojol put up a 10-excellent set showing and came up with an ace while Roxie dela Cruz scored 13 points, including 10 from attacks, and Princess Barbiera added nine markers for the Lady Cardinals.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila, sana ‘yung last game napanalo nila para matapos namin ng maayos ang liga,” said Mapua coach Aying Esteban. “May ini-insert kami na sistema na bago sa kanila. Hindi naman abrupt na makukuha nila. Pero kahit papaano strong finish naman tayo, maging masaya naman ending natin.”
ZJ Deposoy scored nine points for the Lady Stags, who would up with was the only Lady Stag in double digits with nine points, as her squad finished at a 0-7 card.