‘It was either sink or swim. At least, we’re still swimming.’
Angge Poyos rises to the occasion to help UST get past Adamson University, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 27-25, 15-8, in their UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball game last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UAAP
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University of Santo Tomas (UST) refused to go down in defeat, clawing its way back from the brink to halt a three-game losing streak in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
Facing a possible fourth straight loss — something it had not experienced in seven years — UST battled through five grueling sets to edge out Adamson University, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 27-25, 15-8, late Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ace wingers Angge Poyos and Reg Jurado spearheaded the crucial comeback, combining for 47 points to deny Adamson rookie-captain Shaina Nitura, who made history with another explosive 36-point performance — her third 30-plus-point game of the season.
A loss would have mirrored UST’s midseason slump in UAAP Season 80, when the squad suffered a five-game skid. This time, however, the Golden Tigresses found a way to fight back.
UST head coach Kungfu Reyes pinpointed inconsistency and shaky fundamentals as the root of the squad’s struggles during the three-game slide.
“My assessment of our losing streak is that we keep falling short at the end. Even when we win a set, we fail to carry that energy into the next,” Reyes said.
Passing, once Golden Tigresses’ strength, had become a glaring weakness.
“Technically, our reception has been erratic. When our passing breaks down, our attacks become unstable. Even our service game has been soft — against La Salle, we didn’t score a single service ace,” he admitted.
With its season in a precarious spot, UST took a hard look at its mistakes and made the necessary adjustments.
The Golden Tigresses knew the implications of another loss, and they responded with determination.
“Our previous losses are behind us; we’ve taken our lessons. But this one, we had to find a way because losing again would have been really tough,” Reyes emphasized.
“It was either sink or swim. At least, we’re still swimming. We won’t go down that easily.”
