Explosive, busy playdate fires off Collegiate National Invitationals

Games Sunday:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

1:00 p.m. --- Letran vs Southern Storm Melbourne

3:00 p.m. --- UST vs Enderun Colleges

5:00 p.m. --- Ho Chi Minh City VC vs CSB

An explosive triple-header playdate fires off the thrilling international-flavored 2026 Shakey’s Collegiate National Invitationals on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Letran College gets the first shot at visiting Southern Storm Melbourne of Australia in the scheduled 1 p.m. curtain-raiser, followed by the 3 p.m. clash between University of Santo Tomas and Enderun Colleges.

College of Saint Benilde battles Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Volleyball Club to cap the busy opening day of the weeklong competition backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, and R and B Milk Tea.

The Lady Knights, despite missing key veterans due to injuries, march into battle carrying the momentum of their NCAA Season 101 title conquest.

All eyes are on Judiel Nitura, the NCAA Season 101 Finals MVP, as she takes over the leadership role for a Letran side playing sans injured veterans Gia Maquillang (knee) and Vanessa Sarie (right shoulder).

The Lady Knights are in for a tough challenge, taking on the towering Australians and adjusting to their style of play.

“We want to see how our new players will perform and how we will play against foreign teams,” Letran mentor Aleksi Lahteenmaki said.

On the other hand, Lady Blazers head coach Jerry Yee looks forward to testing his team’s mettle against the Vietnamese in the competition supported by Jetour, Baic, Eurotel, Victory Liner Rent & Go, F2 Logistics, Summit Natural Drinking Water, PusoP.com and Smart Sports.

“Sana makapag-compete tayo and sana maipakita natin ‘yung brand of volleyball natin going against foreign teams,” he said.

CSB will be gunning to win it all this time after a runner-up finish in the Luzon leg of last year’s National Invitationals.

UAAP powerhouse Golden Tigresses eye a good start in their bid for a return to the podium since winning bronze in the 2023 edition. UST fell short of a Final Four seat in 2024 and skipped the three-leg staging of the competition last year.

Regina Jurado, Angge Poyos, Avril Bron, Marga Altea and rookie Kim Rubin banner the stacked Tigresses side against the NAASCU multi-champion Lady Titans.      

All games in the competition, backed by technical partners Philippine Sports Commission, Commission on Higher Education, Mikasa, Asics, Rigour Technology and Team Rebel Sports, are available live and on-demand via PusoP.com livestream and Solar Sports.