By: Aishah Jimenez
In photos: The Colegio de San Juan de Letran women's and men's divisions battled against the Arellano Chiefs last March 22, 2025. Photo Courtesy: Kim Yoshi Espiritu.
Men’s Division
Colegio de San Juan de Letran emerged victorious at the expense of San Sebastian Golden Stags in a sweep, 25-18, 26-24, 25-21, during the NCAA Season 100 first elimination round on April 11 at the San Sebastian College - Recoletos Gym.
After upending the defending champions Perpetual Altas, the Knights must have bolstered their confidence, eventually forcing the Stags to settle at the ninth spot with a 1-8 record while solidifying their own at the third with a 6-3 record after the first round.
Veteran Vince Himzon pioneered the crew’s triumph with 14 points built on 10 attacks and four blocks.
The Knights showed off their offensive prowess in the opener by scoring twice as much as the SSCR, 18–9. Attacks from Himzon and Derrick Bautista and a block from John Wayne Arano pushed the Knights to a set point, which the win was eventually handed after a Service error from the Stags.
A firmer SSCR squad, however, rose on the second set, as points were being tied from one moment to another. The former’s Kyle Villamor's fearless attack prevented Letran from easily sealing the set, but a Himzon point and Arano’s ace put the latter to the advantage, 26-24.
In the decider, the Muralla-based crew did not back down, sitting comfortably on a four-point leverage from the beginning until the match's conclusion. Arieh Barba’s off-the-block attack allowed Letran to tow past San Sebastian.
Stags’ offense built with plays from Villamor along with Joshua Espenida and Rhenmart Alba were no match to Letran’s round 1 finale performance.
Women’s Division
The Lady Knights likewise replicate the result of their counterpart, but in a four-set affair, 28-26, 25-18, 24-26, 25-17 against the Lady Stags.
After caving in from their previous match against the Lady Altas, the Lady Knights re-mastered their formula to get back into the winning column. Such a feat, however, cannot be regarded as a common one as it paved the way for them to supersede the College of Saint Benilde, Perpetual, and Mapua at the end of the first round.
Although the four teams produced an identical 7-2 card, Letran was able to deliver a total of 22 points, making them the top seed as of the moment. Just behind them were CSB and UPHSD who tallied 20 points apiece while Mapua garnered 19.
Gia Maquilang maneuvered the Lady Knights with 20 points polished from 17 attacks, two blocks and an ace.
The first set seemed to be like a head-to-head battle between the two teams as they kept on exchanging points. A hit from San Sebastian’s Juna May Gonzales brought their team to an edge, 23-24, but attacks from Gia Maquilang and Royce Dela Cruz powered CSJL to 25-24. Errors after errors hold forth the set until Judiel Nitura clamps on a down-the-line attack and an ace to capture the set in favor of the latter.
In the second frame, it may seem easier for the Lady Knights as they were already lounging on a 10-point lead, 19-9. The Recto-based squad hoped to keep up, relying their faith on Kath Santos, but errors on their side navigated Letran to be an inch closer to another set win. Yet while a block point from SSCR’s KJ Dionisio cut down their deficit to six, they eventually surrendered to the Knights after failing to cover the tip from Dela Cruz.
Coming into the third canto, the favor must have finally worked on the Lady Stags, allowing the Lady Knights to trail in as much as four points, 17-21, but Maquilang flaunted her scoring prowess at the front row, slowly erasing the gap. An attack point from SSCR’s Divine Garcia tied the game at 24-all before unseen faults of Letran automatically surrendered the set to the former.
The Lady Stags’ hopes for a must-have two-set win to enter a decider were crushed as the Lady Knights delivered efforts just as what they did on the second set. An attack and a block from Dela Cruz mobilized CSJL to match point, but the former’s Santos answered back with a hit. Colegio’s Joralyn Panangin made an off-the-block attack that sewed up the triumph on the Intramuros side.
Following the loss, the Lady Stags now banked on the sixth spot with a 5-4 record and will regroup in the second round riding good outings from Santos, Dionisio, and veteran Tina Marasigan.
The schedule of the second round of elimination for the tournament is yet to be announced.