NU, UST shoot for SSL finals berths

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

10 a.m. — San Beda vs UP

12 p.m. — Ateneo vs Saint Benilde

3 p.m. — NU vs FEU

5 p.m. — UST vs Adamson  

Defending champion National University (NU) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) eye a quick disposal of their respective semifinals opponents to forge a title showdown in the 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Preseason Unity Cup on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The four-peat-seeking Lady Bulldogs test the mettle of Far Eastern University at 3 p.m. while the Tigresses clash with an equally-dangerous Adamson University at 5 p.m.

Both armed with a Final Four twice-to-beat advantage after finishing as top seeds in the second round, NU and UST are fancied to set up a rematch of their 2023 finals meeting in the league’s centerpiece tournament.                      

The Lady Bulldogs are riding the crest of an unbeaten run after seven starts, including a 26-24, 25-27, 25-18, 25-16 triumph over San Beda University in the quarterfinals last Tuesday despite missing the services of skipper Vange Alinsug and national youth team players Sam Cantada and Denesse Daylisan.

NU head coach Regine Diego expects sophomore hitter Celine Marsh, who pumped in 23 points in the previous outing, setter Lams Lamina, Chams Maaya, Abegail Pono, Alexa Mata and Myrtle Escanlar to step up once again for the team to secure a seat in the best-of-three championship.

“We still need to work harder because our previous game wasn’t really good even though we won. We need to be mindful with our performance, especially our errors,” Marsh said.

On the other hand, the Lady Tamaraws are coming from a 26-24, 22-25, 25-18, 26-24, do-or-die win over University of the Philippines last Friday for a return ticket to the semis.