University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) breakthrough championship in the 2026 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 is a story of resilience, hard work and unquestionable heart.

Despite fielding a lean roster, the Junior Golden Tigresses rose through adversities for a fairytale ending in the competition.

Led by Most Valuable Player Kim Rubin, UST came back from a 1-2 match deficit to upset title favorite Bacolod Tay Tung in the winner-take-all final, 16-25, 26-24, 19-25, 28-26, 15-10, Friday night at the La Salle Green Hills Gym.

The Junior Tigresses completed a seven-game sweep in an amazing run, which included a semifinal shocker over last year’s champion and reigning Season 88 University Athletic Association of the Philippines winner National University Nazareth School in five sets last Thursday.

“It’s not luck, we are very blessed. We just did what he had to do,” said the graduating Rubin.

UST swept the pool stage for its return to the quarterfinal after missing the playoffs in the past editions since finishing sixth in the inaugural contest.

The Junior Tigresses would then eliminate King’s Montessori in straight sets in the Last 8 of the spikefest.

UST had to rally from a 1-2 match hole to drag the Lady Bullpups off the throne and set up a final showdown against perennial contender Bacolod Tay Tung, which had been in the championship round in the previous two editions.

Displaying nerves of steel and unshakable trust to their system and each other, the Junior Tigresses fought tooth and nail to bring down the Thunderbolts in a thrilling finish.

“We just persevered. It was tough playing games every day,” said UST coach Rochette Villegas, who was hampered by an incomplete roster.

The championship served as a perfect sendoff for the Junior Tigresses seniors as well as inspiration for the holdovers and incoming UST players.

Meanwhile, organizers of the SGVIL are looking at a bigger tournament next season after a record 44 teams of 20 squads in Division 1 and 24 in Division 2.

“It’s just very heartwarming that as early as now, there are schools that have signified their intention to join next year,” Athletic Events and Sports Management, Inc. president Dr. Ian Laurel said.

“This year was really the biggest with 44 teams and the two divisions proved that the level of play’s getting higher and higher. As you can see in the four editions no team has won back-to-back championships which means it’s really tough to predict which team’s gonna come up with a strong lineup. But looking at the talents in the field, it’s overflowing,” he added.

As an added treat, teams from the United States, Guam, Japan, China and Australia are coming over to play in the first-ever staging of the SGVIL Invitationals slated 11 to 18 July.