LETRAN displayed the heart of a champion BY turn back Enderun Colleges, 21-25, 25-21, 25-14, 14-25, 15-4, TO secure the last semifinals seat in the 2026 Shakey’s Collegiate National Invitationals on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association champion gathered itself up after a fourth-set meltdown and unleashed its true form in the decider to advance to the next round.
As College of Saint Benilde built confidence heading into the semifinals after a four-set victory over Australian guest team Southern Storm, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, to end the elimination round.
The Lady Blazers won back-to-back games and claimed the No. 2 seeding in the knockout semifinals against the same rival on Friday.
Judiel Nitura and Reeza Abayon took care of business in the fifth set as the Lady Knights opened a huge lead on their way to closing the elimination round with a 2-3 win-loss record.
Letran will take on top-seeded University of Santo Tomas in the knockout semifinals.
Heady setter Hizki Flores provided stability for Letran, especially in the fifth set, with good setups that allowed the Lady Knights to drill crucial hits to pull away early.
‘I just told my teammates that we need to execute and follow whatever our coach told us,’ said Flores, who tallied 16 excellent sets to help the Lady Knights hammer out 57 attack points. ‘We made gradual adjustments, which is why we secured the win.’
Abayon showed the way for the Intramuros-based squad with 17 points on 15 kills and two aces while Nitura added 14 points.
Althea Botor uncorked a game-high 24 points on 18 kills, three kill blocks and three aces in a wasted effort for the Lady Titans, who threw away 28 points on errors as they closed out their campaign with a 1-4 card.
Kai Lleses unloaded 15 kills in a 16-point performance for CSB, which finished the round with a 4-1 record.
‘Our coach said that this game is about giving others exposure and it’s our chance to carry the team even without the core-to show that even the second unit can compete,’ Lleses said.
Arriana Pua added 10 points and Angela Castillo posted seven points for the Lady Blazers.
Sammy Pila had 15 points on 12 kills, two kill blocks and an ace while Steph Baker also tallied 15 points built on 10 attacks, four kill blocks and a service winner for Southern Storm which suffered two straight losses to finish the eliminations after a hot 3-0 start.