Game on Wednesday
(Mall of Asia Arena)
2 p.m. – UST vs DLSU
(Women’s Playoff)
University of Santo Tomas (UST) and De La Salle University (DLSU), the top challengers to National University’s (NU) reign, slug it out in a playoff for the No. 2 seed and the other twice-to-beat bonus in the forthcoming UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball Final Four on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Action sizzles at 2 p.m. for the lone match, serving as the opening act in a virtual best-of-three showdown between the UST Golden Tigresses (9-5) and the DLSU Lady Spikers (9-5) as the sure counterparts in the semifinals starting on Saturday.
Top-seeded NU (12-2), with a win-once bonus, takes on the fourth-ranked Far Eastern University (FEU) (9-5) in the other pairing, a similar cast last season won by the NU Lady Bulldogs capped by a sweep of the Golden Tigresses in the finale.
Santo Tomas, like last year, wants no less than the second seed after missing it out on securing the coveted spot right away last weekend with a crucial 25-23, 17-25, 18-25, 25-22, 9-15 loss to NU.
UST lost spikers Xyza Gula and Jonna Perdido with season-ending injuries right before the season started but still braved on.
MVP contender Angge Poyos, Regina Jurado and team captain Detdet Pepito have been holding the fort for Santo Tomas so far, staying toe-to-toe with rivals NU and La Salle in a hot chase for the crown despite a crippled crew.
Last year, the Golden Tigresses also finished No. 2 with a twice-to-beat edge and dethroned then champion Lady Spikers in just one attempt. They split their meetings this season in thrilling fashions — a 25-12, 22-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-13 win for Santo Tomas in the first round and a 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14 win for La Salle in the second.
Whether they could replicate that or be at the lower end this time with a twice-to-win disadvantage, UST coack Kungfu Reyes is confident that Santo Tomas would be a better team down the stretch with an ultimate goal of earning a shot at NU once again.
“We’re chasing that twice-to-beat of course but whatever we will learn from this, we’ll bring all of those in the semis. We believe we have a championship material but we still have lots of room for improvement. We need that toughness, veteran pedigree and maturity like what NU has,” he added.
The same goes for La Salle, still a young team compared to its championship days with Angel Canino and Shevana Laput at the helm of a title redemption bid under the tutelage of legendary mentor Ramil de Jesus, who’s looking to weave magic anew despite an underdog squad.
La Salle, like Santo Tomas, could have secured the No. 2 seed but bowed to FEU in the final assignment, 25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 25-23.
The three teams got dragged into a tie with similar 9-5 slates and 27 points apiece but Santo Tomas and La Salle jumped over FEU for the playoff due to superior set ratio. — John Bryan Ulanday
