BY ABBY TORALBA
COLLEGE OF Saint Benilde flirted with disaster and escaped with a 25-17, 20-25, 25-10, 25-27, and 15-12 victory over Enderun Colleges yesterday as the preliminary round of the 2023 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge ended at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Lady Blazers finished with a 6-1 slate and will take on the University of the East in the semifinals while the Lady Titans finished their league debut with a 2-5 record.
Trailing 5-8 in the deciding set, CSB turned it around with a huge 5-0 run behind the heads-up game of skipper Clo Mondoñedo as the NCAA back-to-back champions snatched victory in one hour and 48 minutes.
“Wala naman silang ibang problema kundi and mga sarili nila. But when they gathered their wits and composure, they got back on track,” said CSB coach JP Martinez.
Jade Gentapa had 18 points on 16 attacks and two aces, while Gayle Pascual added 17 markers to underscore the squad’s balanced attack.
The Lady Titans drew 22 points from Erika Deloria and 21 markers from Althea Botor.
Earlier, Mapua University ended up its campaign with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-22 victory over San Sebastian College-Recoletos to finish tied with Enderun.
Roxie Dela Cruz had with 13 points while Princess Barbiera had nine markers.
