ENTERING THEIR final match of the UAAP Season 88 men’s volleyball eliminations, the UST Golden Spikers face a daunting challenge against the reigning champions NU Bulldogs.
Since their season-opening loss to the Jhocson-squad, the Golden Spikers have dropped six of their last seven meetings against NU, including back-to-back finals sweeps in Seasons 85 and 86.
Fresh off a straight-sets win over the UP Fighting Maroons on April 19, leading scorer Josh Ybañez underscored the need to limit errors as the tournament reaches its critical stage.
“Our coaches always remind us that it’s all about the mastery of our system. Of course, we chase perfection, but there’s always going to be lapses,” Ybañez said in the postgame press conference.
“As long as we can minimize and control them during training, that’s what we’ll do,” the two-time MVP added.
NU’s loss to the DLSU Green Spikers has further complicated the race for the No. 2 seed. Should the Golden Spikers hand the Bulldogs another loss, a playoff for the coveted spot and the twice-to-beat advantage will be forced.
For head coach Odjie Mamon, the elims-closer carries significance beyond the result.
“Regardless of the result, we’re going to learn something… and they’ll still be our opponent in the Final Four,” Mamon said.
“We’re going to bring out all our data, I’m hoping that we can come up [on] how to neutralize the dominant players of NU,” he added.
UST aims to extend its campaign and force an extra game for the last twice-to-beat incentive when it faces NU on Wednesday, April 22, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. F
