UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas shoots for a second straight win in front of its home fans today (Saturday) against the University of the East in the UAAP Season 88 collegiate women’s volleyball tournament at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.
While the Tigresses have played at QPav before, it was usually only for season kick-offs or exhibition matches against alumni and club teams, giving the España faithful a glimpse of their roster. Saturday’s game, however, promises to be extra special on the taraflex floor.
“Siyempre, excited dahil homecourt and I’m sure maraming susuporta. Siguro mas doblehin o triplehin namin kung ano ‘yung naging effort namin kanina (last Wednesday), and every crucial talaga ‘yung preparation. Siguro mas excited kami maglaro, siyempre, nandoon kami sa every day namin na court na ginagamit, so hopefully, mas maging confident kami sa lahat ng bagay,” UST head coach Shaq delos Santos said.
It will be a homecoming like no other for the Tigresses, who are aiming for their first winning streak of the season in the 1 p.m. duel with the Lady Warriors. UST, which defeated Ateneo in straight sets on Wednesday, is currently tied with Far Eastern University at 1-2.
“Thankful lang din kasi nakuha namin ‘yung first win this season, and talagang nag-bounce back talaga kami. Motivated kami maglaro today, and kung ano man ‘yung training namin, talagang in-execute namin. May mga lapses man pero tatrabahuin namin sa mga next games,” said Angge Poyos, the tournament’s second-leading scorer behind Adamson University’s Shai Nitura.
No doubt, Poyos and the rest of the Tigresses hope to capitalize on the rare opportunity to showcase their skills in front of their home crowd.
“Excited lang kasi home court and doon kami nagte-training palagi so expect namin na maraming su-support lalo na sa UST community. Gagawin lang namin ‘yung best namin and sabi nga ni coach na mas maging motivated kami manalo,” Poyos added.
Tied with the Blue Eagles at the bottom of the standings at 0-3, the Lady Warriors hope to give the Tigresses a tough fight and pull off some surprises. Khy Cepada and Van Bangayan, products of the storied UST high school program, will lead UE.
Defending champion National University seeks to reclaim the top spot against University of the Philippines at 5 p.m. The week-long break after opening the season with three wins against top contenders was welcomed by Lady Bulldogs coach Regine Diego, especially for recovery from the grueling stretch.
“These are very heavy teams na nakalaban namin. We are very happy about that, but we need to study, and we need to learn because this is not the end. Marami pa kami laro, it’s gonna be a very long journey, kaya we have to study more and train pa,” Diego said.
Rookie Sam Cantada was held to 10 points in NU’s five-set win against Far Eastern University last week, but the Jhocson-based side survived with Arah Panique and last season’s co-Finals MVP Vange Alinsug sending a strong message to the league with their clutch performances.
The Fighting Maroons, currently tied with the Lady Falcons at 2-1, hope to end this back-to-back stretch against last season’s finalists on a high note. Coming off a straight-set loss to a Shevana Laput-less De La Salle last Wednesday, more challenges await UP coach Fabio Menta as all eyes will be on the team’s response.
The Fighting Maroons may have beaten the Lady Bulldogs in the second round last year, but this season presents a different story.
In the men’s division, Josh Ybañez and the UST squad are also looking to play inspired volleyball at home against UE at 9 a.m. Six-peat-seeking NU braces for a tough battle against UP at 3 p.m.
The Golden Spikers, the Bulldogs, and the Fighting Maroons all hold similar 2-1 records in second place, while the Red Warriors sit at 1-2.
All games air live on the Pilipinas Live app, One Sports, and the UAAP Varsity Channel.
