NUNS risks crown as SGVIL QF erupts

It’s win or go home for the last eight teams vying for the coveted Final Four seats in the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 on Wednesday at the La Salle Green Hills Gym.

Repeat-seeking National University Nazareth School (NUNS) puts its unbeaten record and the crown on the line against a determined St. John’s Institute side to close the four pairings scheduled at Court 1 in this exciting quadruple-header starting at 10 a.m.

The Lady Bullpups emerged unscathed in the group stage following a four-game sweep of Pool A, staying on course to become the first-ever back-to-back champions in the country’s biggest grassroots volleyball league. The event is backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner and R and B Milk Tea.

NUNS marches into the match brimming with confidence and a stacked arsenal bannered by Raine Alonzo, Bella Cruz and Alas Pilipinas Girls member Xyz Rayco.

SJI, which finished second in Pool C, will bank on high-scoring winger Caera Celis and Kristel Mirasol to pull off a major upset.

On the other hand, last year’s runner-up Bacolod Tay Tung, also undefeated in four games, takes on Season 2 champion Adamson University in an exciting rematch of the 2024 title showdown also at Court 1.

University of Santo Tomas (UST), which swept Pool D in the group stage, battles King’s Montessori School while unbeaten Far Eastern University-Diliman squares off against Immaculada Conception College at Court 2.

Meanwhile, reigning Division 2 champion Domuschola International School takes on the challenge of the still-perfect University of Batangas High School in their quarterfinal meeting.

UST-B and Bacolod Tay Tung-B open the hostilities at Court 1.

Undefeated NUNS-B dukes it out against host squad La Sale Green Hills while Corpus Christi School collides with St. Jude Parish School at Court 2.

Quarterfinal matches will be played in a best-of-three sets format. The semifinal and final are best-of-five sets, winner-take-all matches.