ALTHOUGH THEY fell short of a comeback, the UST Golden Tigresses showed that talent within the youngbloods ran deep in their veins during their four-set loss to defending champions NU Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, Feb. 15.
The Tigresses were only a couple of points away from bringing the match to a decider, but were silenced by NU rookie Sam Cantada, who delivered three aces to steal the fourth set, 24-26.
Despite their last-minute heartbreak last night, Tigresses captain Detdet Pepito praised the gutsy debut performances of Julia Balingit, Avril Bron, Pau Escober and sophomore Arlene Waje in the women’s division.
“We just told them the night before that they should just enjoy the game because not everyone gets to experience the same level of play that they are currently experiencing,” Pepito said postgame.
“Actually, it’s not just in UST where you get to see the level of what our rookies showed earlier, you can see it [all around the UAAP],” she added.
Pepito temporarily left the game during the third set and for the majority of the fourth due to cramps, allowing Escober to set foot on the Mall of Asia Arena’s taraflex for the very first time in her career.
UST head coach Shaq delos Santos was also happy with the performances that his newbies showed against the defending champions, adding that their performance last night was a glimpse of the team’s future.
“We’re very happy because we got to see that they could perform [at the UAAP] and I’m proud because they did not waste their opportunity to play their best,” Delos Santos told The Flame.
“They are the future of the team and [it feels good] knowing that while they are only at this stage of their careers, they can already go toe-to-toe against the best,” he added.
Balingit and Bron racked up 10 points each for the España-based squad, while Waje nabbed 12 excellent sets, outplaying star setter Cassie Carballo, who finished with just seven.
Escober also managed to clinch four excellent sets out of her eight attempts and had seven excellent receives despite her limited time on the floor.
As UST suits up for another tough battle against the DLSU Lady Spikers on Sunday, Feb 22, delos Santos hopes to address his team’s ability to maintain their composure towards the endgame.
“Safe to say it was a lesson learned because we know that we have a chance at winning [against powerhouses like NU] as long as we handle the pressure,” delos Santos said.
“We practice every day at training, but at that moment they need to be in control [of themselves] and be more mature in handling those types of situations,” he added. F
