Feb. 28, 2015, 8:13 p.m. – THE UST Tiger Spikers will
miss a shot at the UAAP crown after an 18-25, 23-25, 23-25 defeat against
defending champion National University Bulldogs in their do-or-die Final Four
match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Saturday.
The second-seeded Tiger Spikers squandered a twice-to-beat
advantage to a more experienced NU squad, which will try to claim its third
consecutive championship against Ateneo De Manila University in a finals
rematch.
NU’s Reuben Baysac and Peter Torres provided the critical
blows for the Bulldogs, who broke free from a 21-all deadlock in the third set.
A service error from team captain Romnick Rico put NU at
match point, 22-24, before another error officially ended the season for UST.
The Tiger Spikers ended at third place in their return to
the Final Four after a two-year absence.
“Yung preparation namin maganda sa training,
naintindihan nila. Hindi lang talaga na-execute,” head coach Odjie Mamon
said. “Siguro ginusto talaga ng NU na kami ang makalaban kasi
inexperienced kami.”
UST posted a 16-12 lead midway through the second set after
a big run led by Mark Alfafara.
But errors doomed the Tiger Spikers as NU duplicated their
Game 1 performance to snatch the second frame for a 2-0 set lead.
The Bulldogs waxed hot at the opening set and sparked an
early 11-2 rally.
Alfafara and Rico, who played their last UAAP game, finished
with 17 and 14 points, respectively, for UST.
NU’s Torres led the two-time defending champions with 13
points.
“I’m still proud of them. We’ve made it this far
despite our inexperience. Sabi ko nga hindi naman na sila bagito,” Mamon
added. Karl Cedrick G. Basco
