By: Aishah Jimenez
The Letran Lady Knights receive their championship hardware from the NCAA management committee. Photo courtesy of NCAA Philippines.
Powered by their previous championship experience, Colegio de San Juan de Letran flaunted a feisty finals duel against Lyceum of the Philippines University, 21-10, 16-21, 15-13, to reign over the NCAA Season 100 women's beach volleyball tournament on Feb. 9, Sunday, at the Sand Courts Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
Although the LPU denied their next door opponents with a sweep, unlike what had happened in the eliminations, Letran’s Gia Maquilang and Lara Silva duo recovered on the set stretcher to grab their third consecutive championship title and fourth overall.
The Lady Knights capitalized on the Lady Pirates’ errors, thereby widening the gap to 12 in the set opener, 20-8. Lyceum was able to save a set point following Maquilang’s excessive serving and a successful attack from Stacey Lopez but eventually yielded the point after pushing the ball out.
Tables may seem to have turned on the second set as Letran surrendered a number of points to the opposing side due to miscommunication, which the latter took advantage of by intensifying their offense, forcing the champions to a six-point slippage, 6-12.
Maquilang then rallied past the Pirates to narrow the lead to one, 14-15, but errors were glued on Letran’s side until Monna Bañares’ spike sealed the second set.
Eagerly holding on to their three-peat goal, the Letran Lady Knights ensured to re-do their execution in the opener, pushing a 6-1 run before an attack from Maquilang charged them ahead 11-7.
Maquilang continued to dominate against the Lady Pirates but it was an attack error from the latter’s Bañares that surged the Lady Knights to the championship point. The Bañares-Lopez tandem initially called for a ball mark challenge but was deemed unsuccessful, hence the point was given to CSJL.
LPU then burst a 4-0 run, from which the margin shrank to one, 14-13, until Maquilang completely settled the nerves with a sturdy attack.
Successfully escaping the horror of denying their bid, Letran is now one of just three schools in the NCAA that have secured three successive championships in beach volleyball. The remaining two include San Sebastian College - Recoletos and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta.
With this feat, Letran’s Gia Maquilang obtained her back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. While head coach Mike Inoferio was hailed as the Coach of the Year for his third straight season.
In the awarding ceremony, the chief tactician emphasized that the players must continue working as their athletic journey does not conclude following the closing of the tournament. He likewise wished that the same set of players would still bleed blue and red in the next season.
“Continue working kasi hindi naman dito natatapos ito. Sana sila pa rin ang player namin next year,” said Inoferio.
The Sophomore MVP, on the other hand, shared that they were able to clinch the deciding set as they bear enough trust between each other. While a sweep match may have been more comfortable, Maquilang perceives that their loss in the second set was just a challenge, which could beautify their tale.
“May tiwala naman po kami sa isa’t-isa kaya pinag-pray na lamang po namin. Kung will po yun ni God siguro challenge po iyong para makuha po [yung kampeonato], at saka pinaganda [lamang] yung istorya namin,” the two-time MVP shared.
All participating competitors will have another shot at redemption in the indoor version of the volleyball competition in the ongoing centennial season of the NCAA.