MANILA, Philippines — UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas shoots for a second straight win in front of its home fans today (Saturday) against the University of the East in the UAAP Season 88 collegiate women’s volleyball tournament at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.
While the Tigresses have played at QPav before, it was usually only for season kick-offs or exhibition matches against alumni and club teams, giving the España faithful a glimpse of their roster. Saturday’s game, however, promises to be extra special on the taraflex floor.
"Of course, we're excited because it's homecourt and I'm sure there'll be a lot of support. Maybe we'll double or triple our effort from last time, and every preparation is crucial. We're more excited to play, of course, we're on our home court every day, so hopefully, we'll be more confident in everything," said UST head coach Shaq delos Santos.
It will be a homecoming like no other for the Tigresses, who are aiming for their first winning streak of the season in the 1 p.m. duel with the Lady Warriors. UST, which defeated Ateneo in straight sets on Wednesday, is currently tied with Far Eastern University at 1-2.
"We're just thankful because we got our first win this season, and we really bounced back. We're motivated to play today, and we executed what we trained for. We had some lapses, but we'll work on them in the next games," said Angge Poyos, the tournament’s second-leading scorer behind Adamson University's Shai Nitura.
No doubt, Poyos and the rest of the Tigresses hope to capitalize on the rare opportunity to showcase their skills in front of their home crowd.
“We’re excited because it's home court and we train here all the time, so we expect a lot of support especially from the UST community. We'll just do our best and like coach said, be more motivated to win,” Poyos added.
Tied with the Blue Eagles at the bottom of the standings at 0-3, the Lady Warriors hope to give the Tigresses a tough fight and pull off some surprises. Khy Cepada and Van Bangayan, products of the storied UST high school program, will lead UE.
Defending champion National University seeks to reclaim the top spot against University of the Philippines at 5 p.m. The week-long break after opening the season with three wins against top contenders was welcomed by Lady Bulldogs coach Regine Diego, especially for recovery from the grueling stretch.
"These are very heavy teams we've faced. We're very happy about that, but we need to study and learn because this isn't the end. We still have a lot of games, it's gonna be a very long journey, so we have to study more and train harder," Diego said.
Rookie Sam Cantada was held to 10 points in NU's five-set win against Far Eastern University last week, but the Jhocson-based side survived with Arah Panique and last season’s co-Finals MVP Vange Alinsug sending a strong message to the league with their clutch performances.
The Fighting Maroons, currently tied with the Lady Falcons at 2-1, hope to end this back-to-back stretch against last season’s finalists on a high note. Coming off a straight-set loss to a Shevana Laput-less De La Salle last Wednesday, more challenges await UP coach Fabio Menta as all eyes will be on the team’s response.
The Fighting Maroons may have beaten the Lady Bulldogs in the second round last year, but this season presents a different story.
In the men’s division, Josh Ybañez and the UST squad are also looking to play inspired volleyball at home against UE at 9 a.m. Six-peat-seeking NU braces for a tough battle against UP at 3 p.m.
The Golden Spikers, the Bulldogs, and the Fighting Maroons all hold similar 2-1 records in second place, while the Red Warriors sit at 1-2. TMT