Letran rallies past NU; Benilde prevails

Letran College pulled off a stunning 29-31, 26-24, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11 win over heavily favored National University (NU) to seize a share of the lead in the 2026 V-League Collegiate Challenge on Saturday at Gameville Central Park in Mandaluyong City.

The Knights dragged the Bulldogs into a tie atop the leaderboard with identical 2–1 win-loss records, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association side needed a solid fourth set and a strong finish to complete the comeback.

In the first game, College of Saint Benilde opened its campaign with a hard-fought win over rival Mapua University, 19–25, 25–22, 25–21, 25–21.

The Blazers needed to shake off a slow start against the Cardinals before finding their rhythm, with opposite hitter Reymark Betco also coming alive late in the match on both ends of the floor.

With Mapua threatening to mount a comeback, Betco delivered the finishing blows to keep the Cardinals at bay, finishing with 22 points, including 18 from attacks. His four blocks proved crucial, while he also chipped in three digs.

Rocky Motol provided the early spark for the Blazers, scoring most of his 14 points in the first two sets, while team captain Chris Villanueva anchored the offense with 16 excellent sets.

“It’s really a huge deal for us that we beat two UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) schools. And NU, that’s a tough opponent. You could say this is a real morale booster for us, for the kids, especially because we lost our first game to Arellano,” Letran head coach Jessie Lopez said after the Knights pulled off a 26–24, 22–25, 25–16, 25–23 win over University of Santo Tomas last Sunday.

No less than former NU-Nazareth School standout Dave Lardizabal steered Letran to the victory.