The UST Golden Tigresses won their sixth straight game after a pulsating 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 17-25, 15-9 victory against the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference at the San Juan Arena last Aug. 22.
UST bucked a slow start and took a 2-1 lead thanks to their impeccable defense and balanced offense.
The Tigresses were able to fend off the Lady Maroons in the deciding set to remain at second place behind undefeated Ateneo with a 4-1 carry-over record in the crossover quarterfinals.
EJ Laure once again led the UST offense with 15 points while Ria Meneses added 10.
Carmela Tunay, who returned from a nose injury (see story on page 16), picked up where she left off and finished with 13.
Despite the narrow win, Tigresses head coach Emilio Reyes Jr. gave credit to their opponents for putting up a good fight.
“Skills wise, merong talent ‘yung mga bata (from UP). Very evident naman ‘yun sa laro. Kaya nga lang, [a] win is a win,” Reyes said.
The Tigresses’ fifth win came at the expense of reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association champion Arellano University Lady Chiefs last Aug. 16 with another five-set affair, 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 24-26, 15-15.
The Tigresses appeared to be on their way to an easy straight-set victory before they had to withstand a furious comeback by the Lady Chiefs.
After Arellano’s Mina Aganon tied the match at 12 late in the fifth set, the Tigresses turned to team captain Pamela Lastimosa and Laure to seal the match.
Back-to-back hits by Laure prevented a UST collapse. She finished with 23 points while Lastimosa added 18.
“’Di puwedeng mag-relax kahit gaano kagaling ang kalaban. Masyado kaming maraming tinapon na puntos nung third set,” Reyes said as his wards dropped two sets in a row that allowed the Lady Chiefs to comeback.
Last Aug. 9, the Tigresses capped the elimination round with an easy 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 win over San Sebastian College despite the absence of the injured Carmela Tunay.
UST cruised to its first straight-set win in the tournament with a solid team effort led by Lastimosa and Laure who finished with 14 and 12 points respectively.
Chloe Cortez filled in nicely for the injured Tunay and scored 10 points.
The Tigresses unleashed a 12-5 run in the third set that took the wind out of San Sebastian who posed a challenge in the opening frame.
