Letran gains revenge, shocks NCAA champ

Letran College stunned Arellano University, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17, on Sunday in a rematch of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 100 finals showdown in their 2025 V-League Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena in Manila.

After going winless against the Chiefs in both the elimination round and the best-of-three NCAA championship series last June, the Knights leaned on team captain John Wayne Arano and Paolo Lopez to blow past Arellano in just 74 minutes.

The victory snapped a two-game skid for Letran and propelled the Knights into a tie for fourth place with University Athletic Association of the Philippines five-peat champion National University, as both squads now hold identical 1-2 records in the eight-team tournament organized by Sports Vision.

“We are very happy because you could see that everyone, including the coaching staff wanted this win badly,” said Knights head coach Brian Esquibel.

In the third set, Letran raced to a commanding 16-7 advantage before sealing the sweep behind timely hits from Dave Lardizabal, Lorenz Vicente and Francis Santiagudo.

Earlier, with the second frame tied at 11-all, the Knights unleashed a decisive 9-3 run to grab a 20-14 lead, giving them a two-sets-to-none cushion that proved too much for the Chiefs to overcome.

Lopez finished with 10 points built on eight attacks, while Lardizabal and Vince Himzon chipped in nine apiece. Vicente added seven points, and Arano contributed six points on top of orchestrating the offense with 15 excellent sets, two points, and five digs.

The Knights will next face the undefeated De La Salle University Green Spikers on 23 August.