College of Saint Benilde battled back from a set down and endured a tense-filled third set skirmish as it stopped erstwhile unbeaten University of the East, 23-25, 25-22, 29-27, 25-18, to formalize its stint in the semifinal round of the V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena in Manila on Sunday.
Gayle Pascual unloaded a 23-point game, including clutch hits in the third, while Jade Gentapa backed her up with 20 points as the Lady Blazers rebounded from a tough four-set loss to the streaking Far Eastern U Lady Tams last Friday to hike their record to 4-1.
They also dealt the Lady Warriors their first defeat after a run of five victories, leaving the first semifinalist Lady Tams the lone unbeaten squad in the eight-team field in their side of the two-division tournament organized by Sports Vision.
"We prepared more on the mental side. Kundisyon naman 'yung katawan nila eh, so 'yung mindset talaga," said CSB assistant coach Jay Chua.
After levelling up the match, the Lady Blazers out-duelled the Lady Warriors in a thrilling third set battle of power and wits with Pascual delivering big then the former held sway in the fourth to pound out the all-important victory.
The Blazers also bucked another explosion from Caseiy Dongallo, who finished with 32 points that went with eight digs. Khy Cepeda, meanwhile, added 15 markers for the Recto-based squad.
