DENIED of clinching a Final Four berth last timeout, the UST Golden Tigresses try again in claiming the semifinals ticket in the resumption of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena today, April 3.
Licking their wounds after a 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 20-25 loss to the NU Lady Bulldogs on March 24, their first in nine games, the Tigresses aim to seize a Final Four passage when it faces the Adamson Lady Falcons at 4 p.m.
UST still leads the pack at 8-1 while its first round victim Adamson, in the middle of four consecutive defeats and trying to pump life to its Final Four drive, is seventh with a 2-6 record.
![UST’s Angge Poyos scores against NU blockers during the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on March 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO](https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2024/04/02/323937.jpg)
UST’s Angge Poyos scores against NU blockers during the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on March 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO
Should the Golden Tigresses beat the Lady Falcons, the worst record they may end up with is 9-5, which is still enough to stay in top four as the fifth-running Ateneo Blue Eagles (3-6) can only go as high as 8-6 in the 14-game elimination round.
The Tigresses-Falcons match served as the main event of a quadruple-header gameday, the first of the league after the Holy Week break.
The NU Bulldogs and the UE Red Warriors, in the men’s side, open the curtains at 10 a.m. followed by the match between the UST Golden Spikers and the Adamson Soaring Falcons at 12 p.m.
The NU Lady Bulldogs and the UE Lady Warriors then begin the first of the two women’s matches with their collision at 2 p.m.
Following their defeat to the Lady Bulldogs, coach Kungfu Reyes said that the Golden Tigresses, led by Angge Poyos, Cassie Carballo, and Detdet Pepitio, now face a character test, if they can get back up after a tough loss.
“I reminded them in the dugout before that our motto is ‘we lose a point, we lose a set, but we do not lose our character’ and this time we lost a game so our character should remain intact,” he said.
“They already know the technical and tactical side of volleyball but now we’re going to focus more on our body language, our emotional side, it’s something that we have to tackle for our upcoming games.”
Meanwhile, the third seed Lady Bulldogs, carrying a 7-2 slate, look to move on cusp of a Final Four berth at the expense of a Lady Warriors side trying to rescue their Final Four chances.
UE, spearheaded by super rookie Casiey Dongallo, is sixth in the standings with a 2-6 slate.