ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Collegiate devider Last 2 semis slots up for grabs

Last 2 semis slots up for grabs

Published Oct 23, 2025 04:25 pm

At A Glance

  • It all boils down to who wants it more, as the last two teams to advance to the 2025 Shakey's Super League (SSL) Preseason Unity Cup semifinals will be decided in a couple of do-or-die quarterfinal matches on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Paco Arena.
It all boils down to who wants it more, as the last two teams to advance to the 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Preseason Unity Cup semifinals will be decided in a couple of do-or-die quarterfinal matches on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Paco Arena.
College of Saint Benilde and University of the Philippines look to complete a shocker after forcing their twice-to-beat opponents to a sudden death.
The Lady Blazers march back into battle against Adamson University at 3 p.m. before the Fighting Maroons meet Far Eastern University for the last time at 5 p.m.
CSB took advantage of the No. 2-seeded Lady Falcons playing sans injured main scorer Shaina Nitura to eke out a 28-26, 20-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-12, victory and drag the showdown into a rubber match last Tuesday.
Rhea Densing, who dropped 24 points last game, Zam Nolasco, Camila Bartolome and sisters Shekaina and Shahanna Lleses will again lead the four-time NCAA champions’ charge for a breakthrough Final Four appearance in the league’s centerpiece tournament backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner and R and B Milk Tea.
With Alas Pilipinas standout Nitura still doubtful, Adamson, the SSL National Invitationals Cebu Leg winner, will rely on the trio of Joy Aseo, Frances Mordi and Abegail Segui to shoulder the offense.
The winner of the CSB-Adamson clash will face twice-to-beat University of Santo Tomas in the semis on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Meanwhile, UP is brimming with confidence after pulling off a come-from-behind, 25-27, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20, stunner over the reigning National Invitationals Batangas Leg titlists Lady Tamaraws.
Fighting Maroons head coach Fabio Menta is pinning his hopes on the wing tandem of Casiey Dongallo and Jelai Gajero and on his net protectors Nina Ytang and Bienne Bansil to finish off FEU for a first-ever Final Four stint in the competition, supported by Asics, Mikasa, Smart Sports, Summit, Team Rebel Sports, Belo Deo, Eurotel- Apo View Hotel, Batangas Country Club, Executive Optical, Baic Auto Philippines, SM Tickets and PusoP.com as technical partners.
“Dahil mayroon pang Game 2, I think we will do better. Pag-aaralan namin ang FEU kung ano man ang pagkukulang namin sa game at kung ano pa ‘yung kailangan naming i-improve. Kasi we know na babawi at babawi ang FEU,” said Dongallo, who logged 21 points last game.
The Lady Tamaraws will need to see more production from Faida Bakanke, who was limited to just seven markers in the previous outing, to ease the scoring burden from Gerzel Petallo and Alyzza Devosora.
Waiting for the survivor of the UP-FEU sudden death is the twice-to-beat four-peat-seeking National University, which is still unbeaten in seven starts.
The Tigresses advanced into a fourth straight semis dance after crushing Ateneo de Manila University, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21, while the Lady Bulldogs turned back San Beda University, 26-24, 25-27, 25-18, 25-16, to stay on the right course for a season sweep after capturing the National Invitationals Davao Leg crown.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.