Feb. 25, 2015, 8:35 p.m. – A FIFTH-set meltdown cost the
UST Golden Tigresses the last Final Four ticket as they bowed to the Far
Eastern University Lady Tamaraws, 21-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-16, 6-15, in their
semifinal playoff match at the Mall of Asia Arena Wednesday.
The Golden Tigresses missed the Final Four for the third
straight year.
UST climbed back from a 2-0 set disadvantage, but the Lady
Tamaraws got off to a rousing start in the deciding set to set up a knockout
game against the NU Lady Bulldogs in the stepladder semifinals.
Bernadeth Pons and Geneveve Casugod led the FEU attack in
the fifth set as the Lady Tamaraws reeled off seven unanswered points.
A big block by Casugod on Cherry Rondina sent UST crashing,
6-15, to end the five-set thriller.
Head coach Odjie Mamon tried to lift the team’s spirit, but
UST’s errors kept coming one after the other in the final stretch.
“Nawalan ng focus ‘yung team and hindi na sila
naka-move on sa kanilang errors,” he said.
Down by two sets, UST found hope in the third set after an
emphatic 10-1 run led by Rondina, who scored five straight points, and two aces
from Shannen Palec to shift the momentum in favor of the Golden Tigresses.
The Tigresses continued to pounce on the Lady Tamaraws in
the fourth frame and built a nine-point cushion, 23-14, en route to an
equalizer.
“Yung tiwala [sa game] nawala. Andun na kami nung third
and fourth eh, bumalik lang nung fifth set ‘yung attitude namin na hindi namin
na-enjoy ‘yung game,” rued team captain Pam Lastimosa.
“Iba talaga nilaro ng FEU compared sa first and second
round,” she added referring to UST’s two victories over FEU in the
elimination round.
Lastimosa topscored for UST with 19 points, while Rondina
and Ria Meneses added 11.
The Tigresses will remain relatively intact going into next
season with only libero Dancel Dusaran graduating. But Jessey De Leon is still
unsure on whether to return because of her academic schedule. Josiah Darren G.
Saynes
