UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas remains upbeat of bagging the remaining twice-to-beat slot in the Final Four despite squandering its best chance of finishing in the top two with a loss to defending champion National University.

The Tigresses’ bid to finish second was stalled Sunday night after the Lady Bulldogs, still unleashing their championship form even without nothing at stake, pulled off a 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 15-9 victory at the close of the UAAP women’s volleyball eliminations at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

UST ended up tied with La Salle and Far Eastern University from second to fourth spots at 9-5, as well as in the ranking points tiebreaker with 27 points apiece.

With a superior set ratio, the Tigresses and the Lady Spikers will duke it out in a playoff for the remaining twice-to-beat berth at 2 p.m tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena in a virtual best-of-three series between the two traditional powerhouses.

Meanwhile, the Lady Tamaraws settled for No. 4 to due inferior set ratio and will meet the twice-to-beat Lady Bulldogs in the Final Four for the second straight season.

For the first time since VIS system put into place in the 2006-07 season, the second place team at the end of the elimination round failed to secure double-digit wins.

“Alam mong chine-chase namin na makuha namin yung twice-to-beat advantage pero yung mga learning namin dito again may babaunin ulit kami papuntang semis so sabi nga namin sa kanila championship material tayo pero marami pa tayong dapat ayusin,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes after the two-hour, 36-minute match.

Reyes knows that the Lady Bulldogs, who have been the league’s benchmark of excellence since 2022, showed their pedigree.

“Hindi na sa volleyball skills minsan, more on yung tayuan, yung talagang alam mo yung tayo pa lang matibay na. Ganon si NU talagang hinahawakan niya yung pagiging beterano nila,” said Reyes.

Seniors Bella Belen, the reigning MVP who had 26 points, 17 digs and 13 receptions, and Alyssa Solomon, who was also big with 23 points and six digs, showed the way for the Lady Bulldogs.

“Gusto kong i-compliment yung seniors nila. Sa amin naman may ganoon, pero talagang kulang din kami sa mga ganong bagay na outside volleyball is ma-develop. Hopefully, yung maturity pa kasi nga paulit-ulit naming sinasabi, yung skills nandiyan na, i-develop natin yung maturity, decision-making natin,” said Reyes.

“Patibayan na lang ng isip at dibdib itong labanan namin sa playoffs,” he added.

The Tigresses hope to cash in on the second chance to secure the coveted No. 2 ranking in the Final Four.

UST will meet La Salle in the semifinals for a third straight season, as the España-based squad hopes to get the job done and have another shot of facing NU in the league’s biggest stage.

It maybe a short turnaround between the elimination round finale and the playoff match for No. 2, but the Tigresses are looking forward for a better recovery as they face the Lady Spikers in another chapter of their fabled rivalry.

“We’re happy at least nakaabot kami sa ganitong situation at hopefully maitawid namin at yun naman talaga ang gagawin namin na pipilitin namin maitawid yung Final Four na ito,” said Reyes.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado