UP-SET: Unveiling a fight that didn’t need instilling, Maroons bring down Lady Bulldogs
On the verge of the biggest upset in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament, Joan Monares found enough composure to let instinct take over.
“I knew [National University] was expecting a strong hit so [their back row] moved backwards,” Monares said.
In a quick-thinking stretch that lasted over just three seconds, the former high school star out of Bacolod’s Tay Tung program executed a tactical play that forged a result that will be remembered for a much longer time.
“I asked our setter for a short set,” the 23-year-old spiker said. As the ball was lobbed toward her, Monares saw Lady Bulldogs’ standouts Bella Belen and Sheena Toring react a split-second late. And as they drifted toward her, Monares “went for a drop ball” in the other direction.
“It was instinct,” she said. “Why go [for a] hard [hit] when they were all [expecting] it?”
Monares’ kill was the final point of a 24-24, 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12 University of the Philippines victory that dragged defending champion National U back to earth on Wednesday at Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Fighting Maroons did what no other team had: Hand NU its first loss in nine games, cracking the Lady Bulldogs’ aura of invincibility.
They also achieved what the rest of the field hoped for: Level the semifinal field by staining NU’s record and prevent the team from sweeping its way to an outright Finals berth.
There will be no stepladder semifinals anymore, thanks to what UP coach Benson Bocboc said was a kind of fighting spirit that didn’t need teaching
“From the start, I told them to keep fighting. UP laban. I’m new here, but I already feel they embody that,” said the rookie head coach.
“I didn’t instill it—it’s just in them. That’s their strength. It comes naturally, and not all teams have that. That character is their leverage.”
Career-best
Anyone placing bets in this game would have been crazy to wager against the Lady Bulldogs, whose 8-0 (win-loss) card heading into the match was daunting as it is, especially for a team that had won just once in its last six games.
UP was also coming off a grueling match marred by cramps and a loss to Ateneo. But even as the Maroons entered the game on a short turnaround, they did so with a renewed resolve.
The win wasn’t just the biggest for UP this season—that fourth win in nine matches also kept the Maroons’ semifinal hopes alive as they claimed solo fifth.
Also a key to the upset was Niña Ytang’s career-best 30 points, including three blocks.
Ytang became UP’s highest scorer since Tots Carlos dropped 32 points in 2018 and the first middle blocker to hit that mark since NU’s Jaja Santiago eight years ago.
“I’m speechless. The ball is round. At the start of the fifth, we told ourselves, ‘This is it. We’ve come too far to quit,’” Ytang said. “We just fought and helped each other.”
It was, indeed, a collective effort—Monares tallied 16 attack points, while rookie Kianne Olango, Irah Jaboneta and Bienna Bansil chipped in 10 each.
“UP played really well today, especially Ytang,” Belen said after finishing with 21 points. “She had an amazing performance. As for our team, I think there are things we could have done better. Maybe there were some things we missed, and at the same time, UP played a great game.”
