It’s not yet over.
Former University of Santo Tomas (UST) stars Sisi Rondina and Eya Laure are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the Tigresses will be able to bounce back when they battle National University in Game 2 of their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball tournament best-of-three finals series.
Rondina, who just led Choco Mucho to a runner-up finish in the Premier Volleyball League, said she believes in the fighting spirit of the Tigresses, who are looking to win their first title in 14 years.
She said the possible absence of star rookie Angge Poyos should pave the way for other players to step up and win crucial Game 2 to set the stage for a winner-take-all Game 3 on Saturday.
‘The pressure is different when it comes to finals so as a young team, they should just embrace the experience. They shouldn’t think of where they are right now.’
From there, anything can happen.
“It will be easy. Even if (Angge) Poyos won’t be on the team, I know that her teammates will step up,” Rondina, the UAAP Most Valuable Player in Season 81 Finals, said.
“It’s about who’s more courageous, and just believes in themselves that they can do it.”
Laure, for her part, told the Tigresses to get the pressure off their minds and just enjoy the journey.
“The pressure is different when it comes to finals so as a young team, they should just embrace the experience. They shouldn’t think of where they are right now,” said Laure, who also suffered an ankle injury during Game 2 of their finals series against Ateneo de Manila University in 2019.
“Because the more they think about it, the more they’ll get pressured. As a young team, they should be hungry for new experiences and absorb all the learnings in that game.”
She said the Tigresses will not simply quit despite having a team composed of freshmen and sophomores.
After all, they already did it to mighty De La Salle University in the Final Four so there’s no reason for them to just simply roll over and die.