#NCAASeason97 women's volleyball | Standings as of July 8, 2022
— GMA Sports (@gmasportsph) July 8, 2022
Visit https://t.co/j2LHR9RUZF for other updates. pic.twitter.com/F0XOaIG5Kt
WATCH
College of Saint Benilde will go for a historic sweep of the elimination round when it goes up against three-time defending champion Arellano University on Saturday in the NCAA Season 97 women's volleyball tournament.
CSB, unbeaten in eight games, will tussle with Arellano at 12 p.m. in a bid to book an outright finals berth while Mapua will seek to boost its playoff drive against Emilio Aguinaldo College at 2:30 p.m.
With a Benilde win, CSB will advance into the finals while forging a knockout stepladder semifinals for the second, third, and fourth seed teams.
It might not be that easy, though, to hurdle a second-running Arellano team that has only lost once this season, with seven wins.
Although this match between CSB and Arellano is highly-anticipated, Lady Blazers head coach Jerry Yee said he's not making a big deal out of it.
"It's my job na to temper 'yung expectations ng mga players para 'di sila masyadong ma-excite para maganda 'yung kilos," said Yee.
"Pwede ganon na excited playing against Arellano pero sa akin, wala lang, 'di ko pinalalaki 'yan eh. Basta kung ano 'yung sinimulan natin, 'yung consistency, 'yun 'yung key."
Arellano, for its part, will aim to strike a blemish on Benilde's record and come in with the mindset of playing in a high stakes match.
"Kailangan laging tinetreat 'yung game na championship or 'yun na 'yung pinaka last game ng paglalaro mo sa buhay mo," said head coach Obet Javier.
Mapua, meanwhile, will look to solidify its hopes of a Final Four seat against an EAC side with nothing to lose at this point.
The Lady Cardinals are coming off an uncharacteristic 25-17, 25-21, 25-18 defeat to Colegio de San Juan de Letran to drop to 4-4. And they will hope to not repeat the same mistake against the already-eliminated EAC.
—JMB, GMA News
