UAAP: Detdet Pepito’s leadership bolsters UST’s twice-to-beat bid

UST libero Detdet Pepito.–UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—University of Santo Tomas libero Detdet Pepito exuded her leadership to power the Golden Tigresses over University of the East in the second round of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.

With Pepito barking orders left and right, UST was able to bounce back from its heartbreaker at the hands of Far Eastern University last week with a 25-19, 25-9, 25-17 win over the Lady Red Warriors at Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.

“I just really had to give them reminders, especially our consecutive errors, the ones on services. I really tell them every huddle that we had a lot of errors because we were chasing them. If we committed even more errors, we wouldn’t have caught up with them so it’s good that my teammates replied properly,” Pepito said after helping UST hike its record to 11-2.

SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball second round

Pepito was spot on when it came to team errors. The Golden Tigresses won dominantly despite committing six more errors than UE.

“This game really showed that we still lack a lot. I told them at the start to work this out and hopefully know what we committed in the last game. Luckily though, we performed well.”

The playoff spot may be secured but Reyes made it clear that the Golden Tigresses are laser-focused on getting one of two twice-to-beat advantages, which is still very much up for grabs.

“This game is important but the last game will be more important. That [game] will determine where our position would be and we aim for a twice-to-beat advantage,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes, referring to the Tigresses’ showdown with defending champion La Salle in the final elimination round match on Saturday.