AFTER FAILING to secure the last twice-to-beat slot in a crucial playoff game, the UST Golden Tigresses now find themselves on the verge of elimination in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball Final Four against their familiar foes from Taft.
The two heavy-hitters are set to renew their semifinal rivalry and duke it out for a third consecutive season on Saturday, May 3, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum—this time with the Tigresses cast as the underdogs found in a win-or-go-home situation.
A four-setter 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 29-27 defeat to DLSU last Wednesday, April 30, meant that UST will need back-to-back victories to knock out the Lady Spikers led by Angel Canino to book a trip back to the finals.
Last year, the España-based crew secured the remaining semifinal incentive after triumphing over DLSU to close out the elimination round. UST went on to the finals and lose to the NU Lady Bulldogs in three games.
UST open spiker Angge Poyos expressed confidence in her team’s capabilities to overcome a twice-to-beat hole.
“(We will) work for it, and I know that my team has a big capacity because we’ve faced La Salle a lot,” Poyos told The Flame last Wednesday after dialling in 23 kills and a block in a losing effort
“Our confidence in ourselves, we’re not going to lose that… and we hope we get a winning mentality so we can extend the series and enter the finals,” she said.
The UST-DLSU rivalry intensified in Season 81 when Tigresses’ former MVP Sisi Rondina and Rookie of the Year Eya Laure denied the Lady Spikers of a fourth straight championship.
According to UST head coach Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes, last year’s finalists must polish their mistakes as they head into the Final Four. The veteran tactician emphasized the team’s need to improve their style of play, given that UST has faced DLSU many times.
“It’s really just consistency, less errors, who’s willing to sacrifice more and who wants it more,” Reyes said.
“The thing though is, they can really see where our ball is going… We just need steady passes, so we can at least get combination plays,” he added.
The Tigresses split their elimination round series against the Lady Spikers, with both matchups requiring five grueling sets. F – with reports from Shayne Lee Andreas Macaraeg
