Tigresses play with poise to trim Lady Knight for first preseason win
University of Santo Tomas vented its ire on Letran in a 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17 bounce back win in Pool C of the 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Preseason Unity Cup on Sunday at the Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan.
Xyza Gula, who sat out the last UAAP season because of an injury, led two other Tigresses in double-figure scoring with 16 points from 14 kills as the Growling Tigresses recovered from a sorry five-set setback to University of the Philippines last week.
The Tigresses, who bowed out in the Final Four of the UAAP after also playing without the efficient Jona Perdido, weathered a fourth set scare by the feisty Lady Knights, using a 10-2 finishing kick that the totally befuddled Letran.
Marga Altea added 12 points, while Julia Balingit added 11 in Santo Tomas’ balanced offense. Mary Joe Coronado had nine points while Denise Bron and Kyla Cordora chipped in with six each for the Tigresses.
“We have been training hard to acquire composure in tight situations,” Altea said in Filipino. “Slowly, we are playing with the poise that we need to have.”
A Cordora hit shattered a 15-15 deadlock in the fourth set, sparking an 8-1 run capped by a Gula off the block hit for a comfortable 23-16 lead.
Leonilyn Padilla stopped Letran’s bleeding before Gula sealed the win with back-to-back hits.
“We played with a lot of composure this time, showed a lot of improvement even if we are down,” Altea added. “We still have a lot of things to work on, though.”
Judiel Nitura was the lone bright spot for the Lady Knights after scoring 15 points.
