Far from perfect
University of Santo Tomas took care of business at home, overcoming stubborn University of the East, 25-21, 26-24, 25-20, to gain the solo third place in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament after defending champion National U on Easter Sunday thumped Adamson at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
It may be a straight-set win following a week-long Lenten break, but the Tigresses received a reality check on what they need to work on with three crucial elimination round games remaining after they squandered a 24-15 lead in the second set.
“There’s still a lot we need to fix, especially discipline. I still can’t get over that moment when we were up by nine and let it slip,” Santo Tomas assistant coach Lerma Giron, speaking for Shaq delos Santos, said in Filipino. “It already happened to us before, I think against La Salle and now it happened again.”
Delos Santos skipped the postgame interview again, apparently dejected after being pushed a bit by the lightly regarded Lady Red Warriors.
The Bulldogs stayed at No. 2 at 8-3 after a 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 sweep of the Lady Falcons and Shaina Nitura, who dropped to 6-4, now half-a-game behind Far Eastern for No. 4.
“The focus is discipline, mental toughness and emotional control,” Giron went on. “Even if you’re leading, you can’t relax. You have to finish the game. Even a nine-point lead isn’t safe if your opponent is determined.
“We really need the discipline to close out games.”
The Growling Tigresses flirted with disaster, as Khy Cepada caught fire and scored six of the Lady Warriors’ nine straight points to tie the set at 24. Santo Tomas got lucky when Shania Olmoguez’s 10th straight service for UE went straight to the net. Avril Bron clinched the set with a block on Cepada to take a two-set lead.
Bounce-back mission
Leading MVP contender Angge Poyos sustained her fine form with 17 points, while Reg Jurado chipped in 11 points and nine digs. UST took solo third place over Adamson and Far Eastern at 7-4.
Poyos admitted they still lack mental toughness and patience after a near-collapse in the second set, which is something they cannot afford as they face Adamson and Shaina Nitura in a crucial rematch on April 11 at Filoil Centre.
The Season 86 Rookie of the Year is determined to bounce back against Nitura and the Lady Falcons after she was limited to five points on 24 spike attempts in a lackluster 27-25, 25-22, 25-12 loss on March 7.
“Personally, I need to step up in our next game against Adamson because I was limited in scoring last time,” Poyos said in Filipino. “But it’s a new round. The system is there; we just need to apply it and stay disciplined.
“The standings are really close, so we just need to stick to our system and follow the game plan every day,” she added. “It’s about patience and trusting ourselves and the system, especially with the Final Four still within reach.”
Jurado, who carried the load with 18 points in their first round loss to Adamson, urged her team to forget that heartbreaking loss and focus on the positives, something which they have done as the Tigresses have won five of their last six games since that result.
“As much as possible, we shouldn’t get too emotional,” said Jurado. “We also have to let go of what happened in the first round because this is a new round. We know we need to step up and fight harder this time.
“We just need to clearly define our goals as a team and individually,” she went on. “Once we do that, everyone will work for it and we’ll be able to get the wins we want.”
