MANILA – National University secured a decisive victory over Xavier University-Northern Mindanao, sweeping Pool A with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-13 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday (12 July 2024).

NU’s Evangeline Alinsug and Aishat Bello starred with notable performances, advancing them to the knockout quarterfinals against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation.

NU coach Norman Miguel expressed satisfaction despite noting areas of complacency among his players. Meanwhile, Enderun College also advanced following NU’s win.

In another match, Far Eastern University (FEU) dominated Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-15, 25-13, 25-12, to top Pool C and secure their spot in the quarterfinals.

Both NU and FEU will face tough opponents in the next round as the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals continue to unfold at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

(el Amigo/mnm)

MANILA – National University and Letran College made impressive starts in the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday (10 July 2024).

NU defeated Enderun Colleges in straight sets, 25-19, 25-15, 25-16, with Evangeline Alinsug scoring 13 points and Nataszha Bombita adding 10. Rookie Celine Elizabeth contributed eight points, including crucial aces, while Aishat Bello chipped in seven.

In another match, Letran overpowered University of San Carlos, securing a 25-22, 25-14, 25-12 victory. Nizelle Martin and Lea Tapang led Letran with 10 points each.

NU, the reigning SSL Collegiate Preseason Champion, aims to advance to the quarterfinals by defeating Xavier University-Northern Mindanao Selection next.

Coach Norman Miguel praised the team’s performance and emphasized the development of rookies amid upcoming player absences.

Enderun Colleges’ Shane Carmona and Erika Jin Deloria scored 10 and six points respectively, despite their team’s loss.

“We put up a tough fight,” said Enderun Colleges coach Ariel dela Cruz, acknowledging his team’s effort against NU.

(el Amigo/mnm)

Games Friday
(Rizal Memorial Coliseum)
10 a.m. – UST vs KMS (girls)
12:30 p.m. – NU vs La Salle-Lipa (girls)
3 p.m. – Angataleta-Orion,Bataan vs VNS-Savouge (boys)
5:30 p.m. – Umingan, Pangasinan vs Canossa Academy (boys)

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas, National University, Angatleta-Orion (Bataan) and Umingan (Pangasinan) loom as the heavy favorites with their unblemished records that they will stake against separate opponents in the knockout semifinals of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-18 boys and girls championships on Friday (April 26) at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

All eyes though are on the Junior Golden Tigresses and Lady Bullpups in girls’ play while Orion and Umingan banner boys’ action in their bid to arrange championship duels on Sunday.

UST takes on Kings’ Montessori School at 10 a.m., NU’s battles La Salle-Lipa at 12:30 p.m., Orion collides with VNS-Savouge at 3 p.m. and Umingan tackles Canossa Academy of Lipa City at 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the annual tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Students from the schools seeing action in the semifinals Friday, classification matches on Saturday and finals on Sunday could watch the games for free—all they need is to show their school ID cards.

The Junior Golden Tigresses and Lady Bulldogs clawed and bullied their way unopposed in the girls’ competition and booked convincing quarterfinal victories to advance deeper in the tournament—UST eliminated Canossa Academy, 25-13, 25-15, 25-12 and NU trounced fellow University Athletic Association of the Philippines bet La Salle-Zobel, 25-18, 25-16, 25-17.

Orion and Umingan were as dominant in boys’ play over Taytay (Rizal) and Philippine Christian University on 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-22, 25-12, 25-18 victories, respectively.

In the girls’ quarterfinals, Kings’ Montessori School posted an equally big 25-15, 25-18, 25-12 win over San Juan Institute of Technology-Batangas to earn a shot at UST as La Salle-Lipa smothered Gracel Christian College, 25-14, 25-13, 25-21 to win a right of challenging powerhouse NU.

Set on Saturday (April 27) are the classification matches for fifth to eighth places for both genders starting at 10 a.m. with the last match set at 5:30 p.m., while scheduled for Sunday are the battle for bronze at 10 a.m. for boys and 12:30 p.m. for girls and the gold medal duels at 3 p.m. for the girls and 5:30 p.m. for the boys.

MANILA — Reigning champion National U drubbed Adamson, 25-13, 26-24, 25-20, and booked a finals return trip in the Shakey’ Super League (SSL) Collegiate Pre-Season Championship Season 2 Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

The Lady Bulldogs erased a 22-24 deficit in the second set before banking on a hot start in the clincher to score yet another straight-sets victory and shore up their back-to-back championship bid.

It’s the seventh sweep in a row for the mighty NU squad that needed only 83 minutes to capture the win in the knockout semifinals with skipper Erin May Pangilinan and reigning MVP Alyssa Solomon spearheading the way.

NU will face off against either Far Eastern U or University of Santo Tomas – which were still playing as of press time – in the best-of-three finale of the SSL Season 2 backed by Mikasa, Eurotel, Victory Liner, Summit Bottle Water, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, R and B Milk Tea, Potato Corner, Rebel Sports, Converge ICT Solutions, Genius Sports and United Auctioneers, Inc.

Pangilinan fired 11 points on seven hits, two blocks and two aces, including a bevy of clutch hits in the pivotal second set while Solomon cashed in 10 points on seven attacks, two blocks and an ace.

Former UAAP Rookie-MVP Mhicaela Belen, Evangeline Alinsug and rookie Arah Ella Panique contributed nine, eight and seven points, respectively, for the wards of returning mentor Norman Miguel.

“We have to check first kung sino makakalaban namin. From there, doon na manggagaling lahat ng adjustments namin. But again, ganoon pa rin naman sa finals kung ano yung tinatrabaho namin,” said Miguel, mentioning passing, blocking and floor defense as areas of improvement for his wards moving forward.

“Going into the finals, dapat sabay-sabay ang kundisyon nila. Yun ang kailangan naming trabahuhin.”

NU, which wiped out Pool A in the prelims and Pool E in the playoffs before making short work of the University of the East in the quarterfinals, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23, picked up where it left off by pouring it down on Adamson with a dominant 25-13 first-set win.

In the second set, Lady Bulldogs nearly yielded their first set all-tournament long after staring at a 22-24 deficit off an Ayesha Juegos’ hit for the Lady Falcons only for Pangilinan to come to their rescue.

Pangilinan’s thunderous attack forced the deuce at 24-all followed by Panique’s soft touch and her block on Jimy Jean Jamili to cap a 4-0 finishing kick for a thrilling 26-24 win.

The lethal duo of Belen and Solomon then took over from there, anchoring a 10-6 start in the third set en route to a sweep.

Jamili, Ayesha Juego and Jen Villegas fired seven each for Adamson, which will duke it out against the loser between FEU and UST for the bronze medal of SSL Season 2 in cooperation with the Commission on Higher Education and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Meanwhile, in the classification phase, College of St. Benilde trounced Ateneo, 25-20, 19-25, 25-11, 25-11, to arrange a duel against UE for fifth place. Ateneo and Arellano will fight for No. 7.

All SSL Season 2 games are accessible across all platforms live and on-demand through the social media pages of Plus Network and SSL with Solar Sports, Blast TV and Aliw Channel 23 as TV partner.

(ai/mnm)