UST escapes La Salle in five-set thriller, advances to Finals

University of Santo Tomas advanced to the Finals after outlasting De La Salle University in five sets, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-7, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Sunday evening.

The Growling Tigers made history in front of the arena's 19,505-strong crowd when they eliminated the Green Spikers, as it will be the first time in 18 years that De La Salle or Ateneo De Manila University will not appear in the Finals.

UST also staged a repeat of their semis run exactly five years ago today, when they also edged out the Green Spikers to capture the Finals slot.

'It's an honor to match up with La Salle. Like what I said during our last game, you can't fool around with them, or just shrug them off," UST head coach Kungfu Reyes said. 

"They had a very big adjustment, (especially) with (Shevana) Laput from being an opposite (spiker), she became an outside (hitter), so that's a very big adjustment, and it was hard for us."

Angge Poyos went clutch in the game's crucial moments, while Jonna Perdido heated up in the deciding set to secure the win for UST.

Poyos exploded with 28 points from 25 attacks and two aces, while Perdido dished out 18 points from 16 attacks and two blocks. 

Em Banagua, meanwhile, fought through the pain after hurting her leg in the first frame, as she pulled off an eight-point performance, with four points coming from blocks. 

"I just etched on my mind that I will come back, that I want to fight for it, for UST," Banagua said. 

Regina Jurado and Bianca Plaza added support for UST with seven markers apiece, while Cassie Carballo added six points, including two aces. Renee Penafiel chipped in two points, and Angeli Abellana and Sophia Abbu contributed a point each.  

After being dealt with a hard blow in the fourth set caused by Laput, Aime Provido and Jyne Soreno, the Golden Tigresses showed character in the fifth set, as they pulled away from being tied at 3-all with a 6-0 run.

Provido and Laput tried to extinguish the fire by hammering down attacks to inch closer at 5-9 but Poyos and Banagua quickly answered back with attacks of their own. 

Laput tried to stage an uprising with an attack, but Perdido denied her to bring the score to 6-12. With the roar of the crowd growing louder, both sides committed an error, but Perdido prevailed after hammering down an attack, while Carballo wrapped up the game with an ace. 

On the other hand, La Salle's Laput ended up with 20 points, while Thea Gagate and Canino finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively as the defending champions bombed out of the competition.