Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

News

UST ends Final Four drought in dramatic fashion


After four disappointing seasons, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses have finally lived up to their hype, clinching a spot in the Final Four with a classic five-set win over the National University Lady Bulldogs, 20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-12, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigresses floundered in the first two sets, struggling to stop NU ace and league leading scorer Jaja Santiago. The Tigresses stopped the bleeding in the next two sets, as their solid serving and blocking game forced the Lady Bulldogs into slow attacks and errors.

Heading into the fifth set, UST head coach Kungfu Reyes trusted his players to adjust and bring them to the promise land.

“Sinabi lang namin sa kanila na nandito na tayo, ilaban na natin hanggang dulo,” Reyes recalled telling his team.

“Doon na lalabas ‘yung sinasabing larong kalye. Tiyagaan na lang talaga hanggang dulo. Basta kayang buhayin ‘yung bola, gagawin nila.”

The fifth set came down to a 3-0 UST run that boosted them to a 12-8 lead. Santiago kept the Lady Bulldogs alive, tying the match at 12 after a sequence that led to one of her thunderous blocks.

UST ace spiker Ej Laure had a bad fall when UST were up 13-12, landing awkwardly on her left ankle. She was able to recover but saw her team take the match in a blitz capped by a Dimdim Pacres off-speed hit.

Ej Laure and Sisi Rondina led UST with 22 points apiece. With a 9-5 record, UST have bagged the third seed and will face the loser of the Ateneo-La Salle clash on April 22.

#ReadMore  Aroga willing to play through injury

“Siyempre, na-reach na namin ‘yung goal na Final Four. Ngayon, kailangan na namin higitan. Tatrabahuhin na lang namin nang maigi,” Reyes closed.

Jaja Santiago ended her season with 30 points, while Jorelle Singh added 13.

The Lady Bulldogs, after starting the season at 3-0, drop out of the Final Four for the second straight year. They finish at sixth place.

The Scores

UST (3) – Laure 22, Rondina 22, Francisco 11, Meneses 10, Pacres 4, Sandoval 3, Bicar 2, Lastimosa 1, Cortez 0, Palec 0, Viray 0, Rasmo (L), Rivera (L)

NU (2) – Santiago 30, Singh 13, Urdas 11, Sato 9, Nabor 5, Chavez 0, Valdez (L)

Written By

Miguel Luis Flores fell face first into sports writing in high sch9l and has never gotten up. He reluctantly stumbled into the volleyball beat when he started with Tiebreaker Times three years ago. Now, he has waded through everything volleyball - from its icky politics to the post-modern art that is Jia Morado's setting.


You May Also Like

News

Chery Tiggo has been on a roll this 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, riding on a three-game winning streak. One of the main...

News

Chery Tiggo shrugged off a first set slip, downing Nxled in four, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20, for a share of the fourth spot in...

News

Petro Gazz released its frustrations on Capital1, scoring a 25-11, 25-19, 25-14 rout in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports...

News

It is with pressure when the cream rises. That is what Bella Belen has been doing for Naitonal University. Belen, who tallied 21 points,...

News

For the young University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, they knew that elusive first loss would eventually find them this season, it’s just a...

News

National University took a trip down memory lane to cultivate the right mindset heading into its match against the unbeaten University of Santo Tomas...

News

National University avenged its first round loss to University of Santo Tomas in the biggest of ways. The Lady Bulldogs handed the Golden Tigresses...

News

ANTIPOLO — Coming off a tight five-set loss to PLDT, Choco Mucho vented its frustrations on Akari, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21, to force a three-way...

Advertisement