MAKE IT RAIN. Zach Nicholls continued pouring in outside shots to give Arellano a much-needed win right before their rematch with San Beda.

Arellano University made sure they were hitting the right notes heading into the much-anticipated first meeting between the reigning finalists in the NCAA 91 Men's Basketball Tournament.

The Chiefs were firing on all cylinders from the get-go with a 30-point first quarter all the way to an easy 85-73 win against the College of St. Benilde Blazers on Friday at the San Juan Arena.

KALOKALIKE. Schoolmates, teammates, magkababayan, magkapwesto, magkamukha even; these are just a few of the things to describe Jiovani Jalalon and Michael Salado.

After Arellano University's victory against San Sebastian last Thursday, ABS-CBN Sports caught up with senior Jiovani Jalalon and rookie Kent Salado for their post-game thoughts and it was truly amusing how their answers were always in sync and how they even practically finished each other’s sentences!

MANILA — If there is one squad in the 12th Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference who knows how to beat National University, it should be NCAA champions Arellano University.

With a core mostly made up of former Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Chiefs clearly got the numbers of the opponents as they take down one of the early favorites in the tournament in four, 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22.

CHIEF ROCKA. Carmina Aganon of Arellano University hits the ball past National University defenders. AU won the game in 4 sets. Photo by Czaesa Dancel/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines — The Arellano University Lady Chiefs survived a 20-point blast from Jaja Santiago and handed National University its first loss with a 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22 victory in the Shakey's V-League 12 Collegiate Conference on Saturday, July 25 at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Jiovanni Jalalon’s 16 assists leads Arellano University (AU) Chiefs to its fourth straight win in a 104-92 win over the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) Stags early Friday evening at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

Dioncee Holts scored 21 points and grabbed 12 boards in the win. Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Behind strong performances from Jiovani Jalalon and Dioncee Holts, the Arellano Chiefs won their fourth straight game in the 2015 NCAA men’s basketball tournament by taking down the San Sebastian Stags, 104-92, onFriday, July 25, at the San Juan Arena.

Jiovani Jalalon of Arellano University dribbles the ball up court in a file photo. File photo by Josh Albelda

MANILA, Philippines – Arellano University continues its roll in the ongoing NCAA Season 91 men’s senior basketball tourney as the Chiefs edged out Mapua Institute of Technology, 100-96, in an overtime thriller on Friday, July 17 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

Dioncee Holts and Jiovani Jalalon carried the Arellano University Chiefs past the Mapua Cardinals to move up the standings ladder to third spot with a 3-1 record.

American Dioncee Holts finally woke up from a scoring coma and Jiovani Jalalon had another productive outing to help the Arellano University Chiefs survive a thrilling 100-96 overtime win over the Mapua Cardinals on Friday in the 91st NCAA seniors basketball competition at The Arena in San Juan.

MANILA — Arellano University showcased its championship form in its first outing at the 12th Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference Sunday in San Juan when it made quick work of Polytechnic University of the Philippines in straight sets.

The reigning NCAA champions showed no mercy to the debuting Lady Radicals as the Lady Chiefs fired off from all angles to notch the 25-17, 25-6, 25-12 win.

Zahara Mae Soriano, representing Arellano University placed  2nd  in the recently concluded Miss NCAA contest. The 21-year old Tourism student, who hails from Negros Oriental, stands 5’9” and tips the scale at 120 lbs. Joining beauty contests is not anything new to Zahara. She participated in Miss Bikini Philippines and Miss Resorts World contests and was chosen finalist in the Binibining Pilipinas 2014 contest.