NCAA: Arocha back in form for Arellano

MANILA, Philippines -- A week after a subpar performance in Arellano University's lone loss of the NCAA Season 94 elimination round, veteran spiker Regine Arocha made sure to redeem herself.

Arocha scored just 10 points when the Lady Chiefs bowed to the San Beda University Lady Red Spikers, 25-16, 17-25, 19-25, 25-18, 14-16, in their final elimination round game last Tuesday. Had they beaten San Beda, the Lady Chiefs would have gained an outright spot in the women's volleyball finals.

Instead, they wound up playing the Lady Red Spikers once more in the Final 4, though the two-time defending champions were still armed with a twice-to-beat advantage as the No. 2 seed.

With a spot in the best-of-3 finals at stake, Arocha regained her form and led the Lady Chiefs past the Lady Red Spikers in straight sets, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23. She scored 17 points on 13 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces, and came up with the biggest plays in the nip-and-tuck third set.

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"Doon sa pagkatalo po namin sa Beda, sobrang nasaktan po kami doon eh," said Arocha, who was the Finals MVP when Arellano won the women's title last year. "Sinabi namin sa sarili namin na ayaw na naming maramdaman ulit 'yun. Tapos ayun po, lesson learned."

Arocha was at her best in the third set, when she spearheaded Arellano's comeback from a 20-15 deficit. Scoring on a variety of hits, the veteran anchored the 10-3 blast that pushed the Lady Chiefs to victory.

"Bilang senior, talagang siya ang tinitingnan ko eh," Arellano coach Obet Javier said of the fourth-year spiker. "Kahit papaano 'yung seniority niya, andoon na. Kumbaga, umaangat na eh."

Javier was glad that Arocha made her presence felt in their Final 4 game, after such a subpar showing in their elimination round game.

"Maganda 'yung nangyari," the coach said. "Siguro sa tulong din ng mga coaches ko kaya ganoon, lumabas 'yung laro ni Regine."

Arocha and the Lady Chiefs will now wait for their opponent in the best-of-3 finals, as University of Perpetual Help and De La Salle-College of St. Benilde play a do-or-die game next Tuesday.

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