The University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses were on a mission against defending champions De La Salle University Lady Spikers.
And the odds were definitely against them, as sophomore winger Milena Alessandrini was out and will likely miss the rest of the season due to partially torn ACL. La Salle were also coming off a loss, and had not dropped back-to-back matches since the UAAP Season 77 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
But instead of being down, UST’s emotions played to their favor. The Tigresses were energetic throughout the match and unrelenting in their offensive assault, spearheaded by graduating captain Sisi Rondina and rookie Eya Laure.
The Tigresses overwhelmed the Lady Spikers and earned their best win of the season.
Before anything, UST dedicated the match to Alessandrini. They even sported Alessandrini’s favorite bun hairdo to let their fallen comrade know she was on their minds.
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“‘Yung mental baggage namin, yung mga doubt na iniisip nila, after kasi ng FEU namin, may ganoon kami. May distraction talaga,” said UST head coach Kungfu Reyes, referring to their four-set loss to the Lady Tamaraws.
“Mawala si Milena, pero we have thirteen strong women na haharap sa kung sino man ang magiging kalaban namin.
“Luckily, nag-deliver naman halos lahat ng ginamit. Nag-contribute, regardless kung nag-points or nag-error, pero nag-contribute pa rin. Na-impress ako, sa kung paano nila na-enjoy. Seryoso kami pero kailangan nage-enjoy pa rin,” added the enlisted Army personnel.
Rondina, who scored 19 points against La Salle, admitted that she had to adjust her play to better fit her teammates.
“The way akong maglaro, intense eh, medyo natatakot sila (UST rookies). Kanina, nag-laro ako ng walang ganoon. Sige, bawi lang, bawi lang. Nire-relax ko na. Pati sarili ko, nire-relax ko rin,” said the Cebuana spiker.
“Kasi siyempre, past games namin, ‘pag nasa likod ako, naninigas ako. So ang ginawa ko, ni-relax ko muna ang sarili ko bago ko i-comfort sila. And makikita naman na lahat nag-trabaho.
“Before the game, sinabihan ko rin sila na… Parang nag-assign ako na ganito-ganyan, ganito-ganyan. Kailangan natin gumalaw, walang gagawin kundi… ‘Pag tumaas yung bola hindi pa tapos. Hindi pa tumuntong ng twenty-five, hindi pa tayo talo. Kaya ayun lang,” the four-time UAAP gold medalist continued.
The Tigresses now sit with a 3-2 record, tied in the middle of the pack with FEU and DLSU, and just half a game behind the 3-1 University of the Philippines and Ateneo.
UST will stay the course, sink or swim. And they anticipate even more tough challenges in their remaining nine outings.
“Ngayon, lumangoy kami. Lahat dikit-dikit na eh. Ang importante naman ngayon, yung every game, saka na kami kukuha ng dividend sa dulo. Kung ano yung pinag-ipunan namin, kukunin namin sa dulo yung tubo,” Reyes shared.
“Ang importante din, ‘yung ma-motivate ‘yung player, ‘yung mental baggage, kaliwa’t kanang distraction. So ‘yun ang nili-limit namin sa kanila ngayon, ‘di kami mag-entertain as much as possible ng mga negative vibes,” he added.
“Basta itong game na ito, all the way, para kay Milena ito. Sa mga Tomasino, at sa mga sumusuporta sa amin, sa ano nila, mga boyfriend man kung meron.”
