Defending champion University of Perpetual Help System and San Beda University fight for all the marbles today in Game 3 of Season 98 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Both the Altas and Red Spikers troop to the court at 2 p.m.
Going into this best-of-three championship series, Perpetual swept all nine games of the elimination round and after a 25-20, 25-16, 25-22 win in Game 1 last Tuesday, the Altas looked poised to easily take the crown and end the tournament with another sweep.
But San Beda refused to go down last Friday without a fight and even came out of a 0-2 deficit to pull off a 17-25, 25-27, 25-22, 25-23, 15-11 win to force a rubber match.
The Red Spikers will also be entering Game 3 with a high morale after snapping the Altas’ 32-game winning streak dating back to Game 2 of the Season 93 Finals against Arellano University in February 2018.
Kenrod Umali and rookie Ralph Cabalsa both scored 19 points for San Beda and will have to dig deep one more time for a chance to not only end Perpetual’s three-peat bid but also win the school’s first NCAA men’s volleyball title.
Red Spikers head coach Ariel de la Cruz said they have to be ready for the Altas’ onslaught that will be unleashed by rival tactician Sammy Acaylar, who was in the coaching staff of Russian mentor Stanislav Lugailo when the country clinched its last gold medal in the Singapore Southeast Asian Games in 1993.
“Honestly, I feel the pressure because coach Sammy is a good coach and he has great players. If they can do it, so can we. We all trained for this and volleyball is the same,” De la Cruz said.
While seeing the 32-game winning streak get snapped last Friday, Acaylar insists it is time to move on.
“I wasn’t thinking about the 32-game winning streak. For me, if we win, we win. We lost so we have to bounce back and we won’t let ourselves lose again on Sunday,” Acaylar said who will bank on the efforts of Season 98 Most Valuable Player Louie Ramirez.
“We’ll find a way for him (Ramirez) to play on Sunday. Our physical therapist told us if that happens, he needs stretching and has ice applied to his cramps.”