The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Benilde Blazers and Lady Blazers stamped their domination against the San Sebastian College-Recolectos (SSC-R) Golden Stags and Lady Stags, cruising to a pair of straight-set wins, 3–0, on Jan. 30 at the San Andres Gym, Manila City.
The Taft squad opened with a gritty first frame as both teams executed an intense, deadlocked opening set. Benilde leaned on Mike Balbacal’s timely punches to close out the set with 27-25. Frame two mirrored the cutthroat point-for-point clash, with Kyle Villamor and Joshua Espinida of the Golden Stags fired with smashes at the net. However, the men in green and white stayed composed in the closing moments to protect the lead and take a 2–0 cushion, 25-23.
The deciding set was undoubtedly conquered by Benilde as Balbacal rains the opponents with service aces, while Rocky Motol’s combination plays and Reymark Betco’s stonewall defense earned them a 10-point advantage. Despite attempts by the Golden Stags to recover by inching closer. Nevertheless, Benilde clinched the match, 25-22.
On the women’s side, the Lady Stags struck first through Juna May Gonzales, but were quickly answered back as Zamantha Nolasco put back the Taft squad on the board. Cristy Ondangan then provided a boost for the Lady Blazers as both teams exchanged shots in a back-and-forth affair. The opening set went down to the wire at 25-24 before Benilde capitalized on the set point to take the win, 26-24.
The second canto saw the Taft squad trade shots early before finding their rhythm midway through the canto. Midway through the set, Shahanna Lleses sparked the momentum for the Lady Blazers to further strengthen their commanding lead as they ended the set with a 25-16 finish.
Benilde carried their momentum into the third set, with Nolasco keeping them in control. Although both teams traded shots after the halfway mark, the Lady Blazers maintained their composure and sealed the match with a three-point advantage, 25-22, completing a 3-0 sweep for the match.
Balbacal led the Blazers with 13 points built on 10 attacks and two blocks, earning player of the game honors. Meanwhile, the Lady Blazers were paced by Nolasco with 20 points on 14 attacks, 4 blocks, and 2 aces.
The Benilde Blazers and Lady Blazers are set to face the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers and Lady Bombers on Feb. 3 at the same venue with a live telecast on Heart of Asia and the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube pages.
Set Scores
Blazers: 27-25, 25-23, 25-22
Lady Blazers: 26-24, 25-16, 25-22
