Tigresses bare fangs, halt Falcons when it mattered most
University of Santo Tomas beat Adamson just once in three meetings in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament.
Fortunately for the Tigresses, it was the only win that mattered.
The España-based squad put an emphatic end to the Lady Falcons title bid with a dominating 25-16, 25-18, 25-19 victory in the stepladder semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
“I have to give credit to these players because they put in so much effort. We didn’t go too hard on training, sure, but they really studied the right moves and communicated well,” coach Shaq delos Santos said.
UST, which had to qualify for the semifinals through a knockout match against Far Eastern U, now moves to a battle against defending champion National U for the right to face unbeaten La Salle in the championship.
“The coaches and the players really worked for this win,” De Los Santos added.
Angge Poyos led the UST cavalry with 17 points on 15 attacks and two aces. Regina Jurado had 13, while Jonna Perdido had 10 in the no-tomorrow game. Cassie Carballo led the Tigresses with 10 excellent sets.
Men’s title rematch
Shaina Nitura, the Adamson superstar who bore the team on her shoulders with her scoring prowess, struggled under the bright Final Four lights, finishing with just 13 points with the season on the line.
Frances Mordi was limited to 11 points.
The Tigresses aren’t harboring any illusions that their next battle for survival will be as easy as this one seemed.
“I do think we need to triple our effort. Whatever we did here against Adamson, we need to triple it,” said delos Santos, of their upcoming joust with the second-seeded Lady Bulldogs. “Knowing NU, they’re always so hungry.”
Meanwhile, the NU Bulldogs and the FEU Tamaraws are set for a title rematch in men’s volleyball.
NU swept the Josh Ybañez-led Golden Spikers, 25-21, 30-28, 25-19, to keep its six-peat dreams alive and well.
FEU, meanwhile, outlasted Ateneo, 25-20, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 15-12, to set up another best-of-three series clash with NU, which they lost to in three games last season.
