Roaring Tigresses rally past Lady Blazers
Angeline Poyos delivered a stellar 22-point performance on Sunday, including crucial hits in the deciding set that led University of Santo Tomas (UST) past College of St. Benilde, 25-16, 19-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-12, as the Golden Tigresses’ extended their unbeaten run in the V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge at Paco Arena.
Despite dropping back-to-back sets for the first time here, the Tigresses remained composed as Poyos’ heroics overcame Wielyn Estoque’s explosive 31-point outing for the Lady Blazers. The victory marked UST’s fourth consecutive win in the seven-team league organized by Sports Vision.
“It was a good thing that we were able to recover,” Santo Tomas coach KungFu Reyes said in Filipino after a 5-1 run from 4-6 down in the fifth keyed the win.
Poyos and middle blocker Pia Abbu were at the firing end of that telling run as the Tigresses surged ahead, 9-7 and never looked back.
Jonna Perdido then stepped up with a critical crosscourt hit, before capping her game-long brilliance with the match-sealing ace.
“What’s important is that we gain maturity from certain situations,” Reyes, whose charges finished a battling second to National University in the UAAP a few months back, added. “Regardless of the outcome, what’s important to me is seeing how they react (in critical situations).”
Poyos’ total included 18 attacks, three blocks and an ace to anchor UST’s comeback victory. She also tallied 10 excellent digs and six excellent receptions, while Perdido and Regina Jurado added 14 and 11 points, respectively.UST will next face sister school Letran on Sept. 4.
Rhea Densing scored 14 points, while Borromeo added 11 for St. Benilde, which dropped to 2-3. The Lady Blazers will next clash with the Lyceum of the Philippines on Sept. 11.
