The Arellano University Lady Chiefs made sure that they did not allow the San Beda University Lady Red Spikers get in their way of a spot in the Finals once again by defeating them in a three-set match for the 94th season of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) at the Flying V Filoil Arena last Tuesday, January 22.
The set scores ended 25-18, 25-21, and 25-23 with spiker Regine Arocha leading her team to advance in the finals for the third season in a row. Arocha redeemed herself from their recent five-set loss to San Beda where she only contributed 10 points, the reigning final Most Valuable Player (MVP) this time providing 17 points off 13 spikes, two service aces, and two blocks. She was aided by sophomore Necole Ebuen, who contributed 11 points and 13 digs, as well as Alyana San Gregorio who had 11 points.
When it comes to her performance, Arocha shared, “When we lost to San Beda, that was really hard. That was already our game. If we beat them then, we would’ve been in the finals.” She reminisced the game to be a “lesson learned,” stating in Filipino, “We told ourselves that we don’t want to feel that way again. We’re really happy now that we won.”
She added, “It was a lesson to us to do even better so that we don’t feel that way again. That’s why we’re really thankful to our opponents San Beda, because we learned.”
Arellano head coach Obet Javier told the media that his team really worked hard during practice, in his words, “We prepared almost one week so that we can redeem ourselves.”
Coach Obet said that his team desired for a sweep in the beginning, but added in Filipino, “However, maybe God really gave us a challenge like what happened in the Final Four. So what I told the girls is to just forget about elimination.”
For the best-of-three finals matchup, the Lady Chiefs are still waiting on who will be their opponent as the University of Perpetual Help and the College of Saint Benilde have yet to face off for their entry into the championship next Tuesday, January 30.