The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers said goodbye to their championship dreams after losing to the fourth-seeded Colegio de San Juan de Letrán (CSJL) Knights in the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Tournament, 1-3, on June 6 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

The Letran Knights picked up where they left off as they played like a well-oiled machine. However, a 7-1 run by the Blazers halted their momentum. While the Intramuros squad tried to capitalize on their opponents’ errors, the solid defense of the men in green and white grounded them as Adriane Austero went for the finish, 25-22. 

With a chip on their shoulders, Letran immediately took control of the second set. Just when they thought they were in the safe zone, Rocky Motol spearheaded a run to even the score. However, Bembem Bautista’s heroics tied the match at 1-1, 28-26. 

The error-plagued Taft squad could not come back as the Letran Knights ran the show in the third and fourth frames. Vince Himzon came alive in the succeeding sets as Bautista rode the wave of their momentum to upset the Blazers and book a trip to the finals, 14-25 and 20-25, respectively. 

The Benilde Blazers will face off the Mapua University (MU) Cardinals in the Battle for Third at 8 a.m. on June 11 at the same venue with a live telecast on the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube Pages. 

Set Scores:

Blazers: 25-22, 26-28, 14-25, 20-25