Race for quarters twice-to-beat advantage erupts

MANILA, Philippines — A busy quadruple-header playdate kicks off the chase for the quarterfinals twice-to-beat advantage in the 2026 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Unity Cup Round of 8 on Sunday at the Imus Sports Complex. Unbeaten defending champion National University gets an early test in Pool E when it takes on a dangerous and equally formidable College of Saint Benilde at 3 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs cruised in the elimination round, sweeping their four assignments without dropping a single set in their five-peat bid in the league’s centerpiece competition, backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner and R&B Milk Tea.     NU head coach Norman Miguel knows the Lady Blazers have the personnel to match up against his squad. However, he sees the game as a battle of roster depth and bench contribution given the tournament’s unique all-to-play format.    “Since all-to-play ang format, having your other players stepping up on their game is of huge importance kasi not all the time our senior players will play their A-game, and if you have your second team playing competitively as well, malaking advantage para sa amin,” Miguel said. CSB, which won two of its three matches in the opening round, is one of the only...