MANILA, Philippines - College of St. Benilde and La Salle Green Hills became the first school in a decade to win the general championships of the juniors and seniors divisions in the recently concluded Season 84 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The back-to-back champion Blazers compiled 368 points that highlighted first place finishes, worth 40 points in chess, men’s and women’s table tennis and taekwondo, as well as second place finishes (30 points) in women’s volleyball, swimming, lawn tennis and women’s beach volley.
CSB also had third place finishes (25 points) in men’s volleyball and football, fourth place (10 points) in track and field and sixth place (eight points) in basketball.
The Taft-based school defeated San Beda College, which finished with 318 points, for the overall title, while Letran placed third with 315 points, followed by San Sebastian College (231), Philippine Christian University (166), Perpetual Help (144), Mapua (143) and Jose Rizal University (92).
The Junior Blazers clinched the high school championship following their dominating performance in the track and field event to garner 290 points, beating the SSC Staglets (240) and the Letran Squires (210).
The Perpetual Altalettes placed fourth (168), followed by San Beda Red Cubs (166), Mapua Red Robins (56) and JRU Light Bombers (55).
Aside from track and field, LSGH, which is celebrating its 50th Golden Jubilee this year, also won championships in swimming, football and lawn tennis, third place in volleyball and chess, and fourth place in basketball and table tennis.
While it was St. Benilde’s third overall general championship, it was the fourth for La Salle Green Hills.
It was the first time that CSB and LSGH won both the overall title since joining the NCAA, the oldest collegiate tournament in the country, in 1997 and first since La Salle, then a member of the NCAA, and LSGH in 1974-75.
The last time a school won the seniors and juniors overall title was in 1998-99 by the Letran Knights and Squires.