COLLEGE of Saint Benilde moved on the cusp of securing an outright Finals berth following a 25-14, 25-12, 25-18 win over University of Perpetual Help System Dalta in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament at the Paco Arena yesterday.

Jade Gentapa, who led the Lady Blazers with 15 points, including two blocks, knows that they cannot fall into a trap of complacency after extending their perfect run to eight matches.

“Yung kalaban na lang namin is yung mga sarili namin,” said Gentapa after the swift one-hour, six-minute contest.

CSB seeks to jump straight to the best-of-three championship round with a victory against titleholder Arellano University on Saturday.

In the Battle of Intramuros, Letran, playing without pressure, dealt Mapua a blow on its Final Four bid with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-18 victory.

Coach Jerry Yee’s main worry right now is how to keep the Lady Blazers’ focus on the task at hand heading into their much-awaited match-up with the Lady Chiefs.

“Kapag naniwala sila na magaling sila, or kumpleto na yung game, wala na kailangang i-trabaho, wala nang kailangang i-alala, yun ang worry ko,” said Yee.

Mycah Go had nine points, 12 digs and five receptions, while Gayle Pascual had two service aces to also finish with nine points for CSB.

Ranged against the Lady Cardinals who are vying to make it to the next round, Cha Cuñada, who had a breakout year for the Lady Knights in the pandemic-cut 2020 season, was simply glad to got her game back with all the challenges she encountered in the tournament.

“In this game po, hindi namin iniisip na magpa-Final Four yung Mapua. Pinusuan po talaga namin knowing na sinabihan po ako ng mga coaches namin na isa ako sa inaasahan ng team,” said Cuñada, who was edhuge for the Letran with 14 points and 14 digs. “Pinagkatiwalaan ko lang talaga yung sarili ko throughout the game.”

Juls Castro came through with 19 points, 16 digs and four receptions while Shereena Urmeneta chipped in 11 points for the Lady Knights.

“It’s all about pride ng school, especially na Intramuros kami. Para ito sa mga bata,” said coach Mike Inoferio after Letran ended a three-match losing streak to improve to 2-6. “Malaking bagay ito going our last game against San Sebastian and going to next year.”

The victory extended the Knights domination of the Cardinals to women’s volleyball from men’s basketball, where they went 3-0 against their Intramuros neighbors.

Mapua, which dropped to 4-4, suddenly saw its Final Four bid in disarray, as joint fifth placers Lyceum of the Philippines University and Jose Rizal University (3-4) are now just trailing by half-a-game for the last spot.

Jonina Fernandez paced the Lady Cardinals with nine kills and seven digs while Nicole Ong and Tere Manalo added seven points apiece.

Up next for Mapua is a duel with upset-conscious Emilio Aguinaldo College on Saturday to wrap up its elimination round assignments.

The Lady Altas, who are now tied with the Lady Knights and the Lady Generals at 2-6, have formally bowed out of Final Four contention.