The University of the Philippines Lady Maroons finally came alive and snapped their four-game losing streak, stunning the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses in four sets, 31-33, 25-23, 25-16, 25-12, Wednesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Headlined by the Tots Carlos-Isa Molde tandem, they gave their win-loss record a much-needed upgrade. UP are now at 2-4.
“Sobrang importante [ng panalong ito], bumaba kasi kami. Sobrang nakakapagod matalo kaya kailangan namin i-defend at manalo,” Carlos shared.
In the opening set, the Golden Tigresses survived a late run by the Lady Maroons. From 19-10, Carlos and Molde catapulted UP to 24-all. What came next was an exchange of service errors and attacks, breaking set point after set point. But with UP’s difficulty with reception highlighted once again, UST’s Carla Sandoval bagged the set with a service ace, 33-31.
UP clawed back in the second set with a lead of 17-13. Rondina tried to power through, but the Lady Maroons had first dibs to secure their first set win, 25-23, since their opening match against the University of the East.
Capitalizing on UST’s errors, from 12-all, Carlos carried the Lady Maroons and pulled off a 7-1 run. Dimdim Pacres and Rondina tried to breathe life back into UST, but UP were already too far in the third set, 25-16.
By the fourth set, all life from UST seem to have been sucked out by the momentum that the Maroons had built. Molde and Carlos displayed prime form to bag the set and the match at, 25-12.
Both squads now sport an identical win-loss slate of 2-4.
Carlos and Molde embraced their offensive roles and poured in 32 points and 24 markers respectively.
“Kailangan namin tanggapin kasi wala ng iba, sino pa bang ibang aatake? Kailangan naming iembrace yung role namin,” said the UP skipper.
Rondina paced UST with 23 markers.
UP will try to build momentum from this win as they face the league-leading National University Lady Bulldogs on March 4, while UST will seek a bounce-back win versus the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws on March 3.
The Scores:
UP (3) – Carlos 32, Molde 24, Layug 7, Buitre 6, Cailing 6, Estranero 1, Lim 0, Dorog L, Thai L
UST (1) – Rondina 23, Francisco 12, Pacres 10, Sandoval 8, Palec 4, Bicar 1, Teope 0, Viray 0, Bangad 0, Camaligan 0, Pollentes L’
