by Kristel Satumbaga
Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) recovered from a lethargic start to stun last year’s finalist Arellano University, 24-26, 8-25, 25-20, 25-18, 21-19, yesterday and advance to the stepladder semifinals in NCAA men’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan City.
Trailing by two sets, the Generals found their groove in the third with smart plays and whistling shots before keeping their composure in the crunch to remain in contention for the crown.
Back-to-back errors from Arellano gave EAC the match-point advantage before graduating Joshua Mina sealed the win with a quick attack.
Rookie Joshua Ramilo paced the Generals with a game-high 23 points while Mina finished with 20 points.
Kim Tan and Christian Segovia led Arellano with 17 and 14 points, but were not enough to keep them afloat.
EAC’s win arranged them a knockout match against College of St. Benilde next week where the winning squad will face defending champion University of Perpetual Help in the best-of-three finals.
The Altas earned an outright finals berth after sweeping the nine-game eliminations, leading to a three-team stepladder semifinal.
Last year, EAC failed to make it into the semis after settling for sixth place.
