The Katipunan Wall showed up for Ateneo and the No. 1 team of Season 81 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament sent its best-of-three title series with University of Santo Tomas to a deciding game after a 26-24, 14-25, 25-21, 25-15 victory filled with great action and some poignant moments.
Absent in a straight-sets Game 1 loss, Ateneo’s towering blockers did not give an inch on Wednesday as the Lady Eagles frustrated the hobbling yet courageous Tigresses before close to 20,000 screaming souls—most of them forming a sea of gold—at Mall of Asia Arena.
Maddie Madayag, Kat Tolentino and skipper Bea de Leon combined for 41 points to force a no-tomorrow match on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“I just reminded the team to keep believing in each other,” De Leon, the middle blocker who had 13 points, said.
“It crossed our minds that this might be our last game but we really fought; we weren’t going down without a fight,” Madayag said.
The Tigresses fought gallantly but when Eya Laure walked off the court early in the third and gingerly tried to play on a rolled left ankle, UST’s fight seemed to have dissipated. —WITH A REPORT FROM BONG LOZADA, INQUIRER.NET