University of Perpetual Help System DALTA secured its National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 99 final ticket after breezing past Emilio Aguinaldo College, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23, Sunday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Louie Ramirez and sophomore Jeff Marapoc teamed up as the Altas cruised to its ninth straight win for a perfect finish in the elimination phase.

Ramirez uncorked 20 points and five receptions while Marapoc dished out 13 points from 13 attacks.

JC Enarciso also distributed the ball effectively as he carved out 19 excellent sets at the end of the game, while libero John Phillip Pepito finished with nine digs and six excellent receptions.

With the Generals trailing closely behind, the Altas stayed composed, especially in the third set, when Jon Abor managed to cut the deficit to just one after EAC’s 4-1 run by winning a joust, 23-22.

However, Abor got carried away during the next play as he hammered down the ball too strong, which led to an attack error, 24-22. Abor then bounced back after seeing an opportunity to score a point from Perpetual’s overpass, 24-23.

Smelling the opportunity to wrap up the game, the Altas then called a timeout, which was effective, as Ramirez dropped a kill in the middle to finish the game.

“Actually, we really prepared for this during the training, and (we) scouted their games to get this win. It was good that we executed our plays that we prepared for in practice,” Altas Spikers head coach Sammy Acaylar said.

Patrick Osabel and Ruther Abor led the Generals with 20 and 14 points apiece, but it was not enough as the Altas dealt their first loss in nine games.

The Altas are now in the hunt for a four-peat, as they clinched their third consecutive championship crown against San Beda in the best-of-three Finals in Season 98.