July 11, 2015, 1:40 p.m. – THE UST Golden Tigresses are
eyeing a podium spot they narrowly missed last year as they gear up for the
Shakey’s V-League Season 12 second conference at The Arena in San Juan on July
11.
With UST undergoing a major revamp with Emilio “Kung
Fu” Reyes taking over Odjie Mamon as head coach, the Golden Tigresses will
use their V-League stint as training ground especially for new recruits.
Rookies Mia Dizon, Alyssa Teope, Renalyn Hachero and Alexa
Rafael are set to see action for the Tigresses.
Despite two slots available for guest players, Reyes opted
to provide opportunities for his rookies.
Reyes chose to sideline Shanen Palec and Alyssa Alterado,
while spark plugs Cherry Rondina and Mary Pacres won’t be available due to the
UAAP beach volleyball tournament in October.
Team captain Pam Lastimosa and veteran Carmela Tunay are
expected lead the Golden Tigresses with their experience.
“I’m focused on how I can be better,” Lastimosa
said. “This way, I can lead them by example, [and] na we will work hard as
one to reach our goals.”
Reyes, who led the UST girls’ volleyball team to four titles
both as an assistant and a head coach, said he would focus on building his
squad’s character.
“Equipped naman sila ng skills, we just need to be both
efficient and effective,” he said.
The Golden Tigresses will try to redeem themselves in the
V-League this year. They settled for fourth place last season following a
five-game skid.
The Golden Tigresses will face Ateneo de Manila University,
the defending UAAP women’s volleyball champion, in their first game today. Delfin
Ray M. Dioquino with reports from Kristelle Ann Batchelor
