Poyos, Jurado rescue Tigresses

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.”