Facing elimination at the hands of Far Eastern University, which had the twice-to-beat advantage, University of Santo Tomas’ outside spiker Gboy de Vega had only one thing on his mind: Not today.
De Vega stepped up in the crucial stretch as the Golden Spikers stunned the Tamaraws, 25-23, 25-19, 28-26, to forge a win-or-go-home scenario in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball Final Four on Sunday, in front of a huge crowd at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Bago po kasi pumunta dito, ang mindset ko na ay ayaw kong magbakasyon eh.
“All of us are currently living our dream to play for UST. Siyempre yung makabalik po sa Finals yun ang una naming goal kasi yun lang po ang sinet namin na goal kasi last year Finals na rin kami,” said De Vega.
“So sinabi ko sa mga teammates ko na hindi kami pwedeng umuwi na talo. Kaya ayun, nagbunga naman po yung pinagsipagan namin sa ensayo.”
The 22-year-old outside spiker finished with 10 points, but his final three points made his role more important.
The Tamaraws came back from 21-23 down to tie the third set at 24-all, threatening to extend the match. But De Vega made sure not to give up the lead to their opponents.
He first drilled a through-the-block hit on Ariel Cacao for a 25-24 Golden Spikers’ match point but was answered by Andrei Delicana for another deadlock.
De Vega then went crosscourt for another match point, 26-25, but JJ Javelona responded with his own version for the final tie of the match at 26.
(C) Nicks Hernandez/UAAP Season 86 Media Team
He secured his final point with a drop ball right in the middle of FEU’s defense, and this time, that match point was not wasted. Josh Ybañez finished the game with a down-the-line kill for the win.
For those fearless moments, De Vega credited their reliable floor defense, which is always there even if he fails to deliver a point in his attacks.
“Siyempre kapag tumaas sa akin yung bola, kumbaga hindi naman siguradong patay eh. Pero binibigyan nila ako ng kumpyansa kasi alam kong nandoon sila sa likod sa baba na kapag na-block ako, hindi agad patay yung bola eh. Yun yung naging problema namin sa past games namin,” shared De Vega, one of the leaders of UST.
“This time, kapag alam kong papalo ako, alam kong nasa likod ko sila. Lagi silang nandoon para mag-cover.”
Game 2 is on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. And there, De Vega knows that they will enter the match with the same intensity – or even more with this big morale boost.
“Mas motivated kami this time, siyempre nakuha na lahat ng kumpyansa and mailabas lang namin yung totoong galaw namin, mas makakapag-perform kami nang maayos, mas madali naming makukuha yung goal namin.”
