Volleyball: Adamson seals third seed in Unity Cup q’finals

MANILA (UPDATED) — Adamson University will have the third seed in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Unity Cup after sweeping College of Saint Benilde on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Behind the comebacking Shaina Nitura, the Lady Falcons scored a 26-24, 25-15, 25-21 sweep to close the round-of-8 on a triumphant note.

They were down by eight points in the opening set before uncorking an 11-2 run that gave them control of the extended frame. Adamson dictated the pace from there, completing the win in 79 minutes.

Frances Mordi led Adamson with 11 points on nine kills, one kill block and one ace while Third Tuddao scored eight.

“Although it was a slow start, I remembered what coach was telling us before the game, that we should learn to adjust,” Mordi said.

“During the game, at the start, it was very slow but at the end we were able to adjust based on what coach told us,” she added.  

Adamson’s Shaina Nitura in action against CSB in the SSL Unity Cup, November 7, 2026 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. Handout/Shakey’sNitura, who only played her second game in the tournament, came off the bench and scored six of her seven points on attacks for the Lady Falcons, who hosted a block party with 11 kill blocks.

The Lady Falcons fell into a 6-14 hole in the first set after Lady Blazer winger Ash Lleses scored on an off-speed attack. Adamson mounted a blistering counterattack and took a 17-16 lead after an Eloi Dote kill.

Aseo put Adamson at set point, 24-22, but CSB forced an extended set with back-to-back points. Dote’s runner gave the Lady Falcons a set point advantage before Rocha ended the frame with a kill block.

From there, the Lady Falcons sustained the momentum and sent the Lady Blazers to a third consecutive defeat. 

Grace Borromeo led the Lady Blazers with 10 points on eight kills and two aces, Arianna Pua scored eight while Camila Bartolome finished with seven markers.

UST COMPLETES SWEEP OF ROUND-OF-8UST’s Reg Jurado in action against Letran in the SSL Unity Cup, November 7, 2026 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. Handout/Shakey’s

In the second game, University of Santo Tomas swept the Round of 8 with a quick win over Letran, 25-11, 25-19, 25-21.  

Veteran hitter Regina scored 16 points, including eight in the third frame, to lead the Golden Tigresses to a 3-0 finish in Pool F and build momentum heading into next week’s quarterfinals.

The top-seeded twice-to-beat UST tackles Pool E No. 4 seed College of Saint Benilde in the quarters slated to begin on November 14.

Jurado kept the Tigresses together in the tight third set and delivered crucial back-to-back kills to put UST at matchpoint, 24-21, after the Lady Knights closed in to within one.

Erica Gutierrez finished off the reigning NCAA champion with a down the line kill.

Letran dropped its second game in three outings despite the 11-point effort of Judiel Nitura.