RESHARPENED CLAWS
University of Santo Tomas (UST) earned a second straight victory to not only stay on track for a Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament but also distance itself from its three-game slide.
Groove back? In a way. But chief playmaker Cassie Carballo is taking the team’s slow rise with guarded optimism.
“We still have plenty of lapses,” she said on Saturday after UST’s 25-15, 26-24, 26-24 sweep of Ateneo fashioned at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The Tigresses seem to have rediscovered the same mettle that brought them to last year’s championship duel, but Carballo knows there’s much more the squad can still flaunt.
“[W]e also haven’t shown everything we’ve got. This win’s big for us, and I just hope that we can bring [our good habits in this game] into the next.”
With the triumph, last year’s bridesmaids also remained eligible for twice-to-beat protection in the playoffs.
But the Tigresses, who improved to 7-4 overall, prefer to take things slowly.
“We just go back to our purpose, which is getting into the Final Four,” Cassie Carballo said.
“We’re taking things a game at a time, especially having struggled by losing three straight games. I’m just grateful we’ve been back in the win column,” she added, following a performance where she logged 17 excellent sets and five points, two coming off blocks.
After losing to defending champion National University, Far Eastern U and powerhouse La Salle consecutively, the Tigresses finally managed to string back-to-back victories, their first since a five-game winning streak during the opening round of the season.
But to keep that run going, head coach KungFu Reyes said that UST should go above and beyond their usual performances if they intend to lock down a playoff berth and give themselves a chance at tabbing that highly coveted Final Four bonus.
“We need to overachieve what we’ve been doing right now. Also, all of the learnings we’ve had in that three-game slide? We can’t let go of those,” he said.
Angge Poyos top-scored for UST with 16 points. Reg Jurado and Marga Altea chipped in 10 each into the effort that put the España-based squad a notch above No. 4 Lady Tamaraws.
La Salle triumphs
Altea’s rise will be crucial for UST, which entered the season on high hopes, only to be deflated by injuries to key players early on.
“I’m just happy because I’ve been working on my game during training, and my efforts just showed itself in this game,” said Altea.
“Whether it’s on both sides of the wing, left or right, outside or opposite, Marga can play it,” Reyes said.
Ateneo drew 13 points from AC Miner and 12 from skipper Lyann de Guzman, but the loss—their second this week after bowing to their archnemesis Lady Spikers last Wednesday—pushed them down to 4-7 in the race.
Like Carballo, Angel Canino felt La Salle continues to be a work in progress.
”I couldn’t say this is our peak,” the Lady Spikers ace said following a 25-22, 25-13, 25-23 dismantling of listless University of the East in the later game.
“I feel we’re showing something new [each game] and we’re happy for that. At the same time, we’re also reaching for more. We believe we have much more to show,” she added.
Three days removed from sweeping Ateneo, La Salle drew key contributions from its unheralded players once again, this time from Jill Santos and Amie Provido, whose nine and six points, respectively, helped propel the Taft-based squad to a third straight win.
“This win is important for us in the sense that this is where our other teammates will draw confidence going into the opponent, the next time we take the court,” Canino pointed out.
“This tells our underutilized teammates they are capable,” she added.
