Defense mode on
Every hardship, every stumble that National University had to endure in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament was something the Lady Bulldogs felt they needed to achieve their goal.
“[E]ver since this year started, it’s been very challenging for us; it wasn’t easy,” coach Regine Diego said.
Saturday was no different. Faced with a University of Santo Tomas squad that built momentum heading into their no-tomorrow Final Four showdown on a couple of do-or-die victories, the defending champions needed to reach for all those hardships before pulling out a 20-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-21 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“With the experiences we had, we became stronger, so at some point … I still knew we were going to win this game,” Diego added.
The Lady Bulldogs thus advanced to a fifth straight UAAP Finals and will look to complete a “three-peat” when they face the unbeaten La Salle Lady Spikers in a best-of-three duel for the crown.
“I’m very happy because every single one of us worked [hard to win] this game,” senior setter Lams Lamina said. “We knew it was crucial. This was a do-or-die, so I’m happy we performed this way.”
“I hope this continues until we get that championship again.”
NU stumbled out of the gates and needed extended runs in the second and third sets to take control. The Lady Bulldogs trailed early in the fourth set, by as many as five and were down four when they scored 10 of the next 11 points to reach match point, 24-19.
Panique leads
Old reliables Angge Poyos and Regina Jurado responded with back-to-back kills before Alexa Mata thwarted a Poyos attack to seal the win.
Arah Panique led NU with 23 points built on 21 attacks and two blocks. Vange Alinsug and Chamy Maaya helped the cause with 18 and 14, respectively, while Lamina turned in 34 excellent sets.
“There were a lot of expectations for NU,” Lamina said. “We need to defend that crown, so there was pressure. But I needed to stay composed. As a setter, I need to lead [ the team].”
Game 1 of the Finals starts on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena and the one person who would have wanted to be there was Detdet Pepito, the UST captain who practically grew up in UST, having played for the España institution for more than a decade.
Pepito, the Tigresses’ starting libero, finished her UST career with 23 excellent receptions.
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