Admittedly on its rebuilding phase, University of Santo Tomas (UST) will be coming into the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament with no expectations.
But it doesn’t mean that the Golden Tigresses would simply back down to the competition, especially after surprising themselves in their preseason preparations.
“We performed well [in the preseason] even though we didn’t put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” captain Bernadett Pepito told the Inquirer after the league’s press conference on Monday. “Coming to this season we are hungry [to win] because in the two seasons of the Shakey’s (tournament), we reached the final four.”
READ: SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball first round
The Tigresses will mostly be consisted of rookies for Season 86 after the departure of its pillars such as Eya Laure, Imee Hernandez and Milena Alessandrini.
Rookie sensation?
But with the team having a clear goal in mind, the third year libero believes that they still have the ability to compete against the continually improving field.
“So far from our previous league (preseason), we did okay … we didn’t have any expectations, but we performed well and played without pressure,” Pepito told reporters. “We saw that we can deliver even without (Laure and Co.).”
UST’s offense will be relying on rookie Angeline Poyos, who immediately showed her potent play in the preseason, and sophomore Regine Jurado as well as setter Cassie Carballo.
It will also be banking on an advantage that the Tigresses continue to harness with its small lineup as UST hopes to rank higher this season after a strong Final Four showing with its previous lineup.
“Our biggest advantage will be our defense, and we will not stop working on our floor defense most especially our blockings, which we think we are lacking,” Pepito added as she leads this young team.
“From fourth place last season, there is pressure with every team improving … but I really hope that this time we achieve more than the fourth place,” Pepito said.