UST Tigresses celebrate their championship in the 2024 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge. They beat the FEU Lady Tamaraws in three games. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — After years of failed title bids, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses finally earned a championship moment.
Confetti fell on the floor for the Tigresses after they won their first major volleyball title in fourteen years in the 2024 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge.
When the confetti exploded in Game 2, it turned out to be a premature celebration and a tough lesson for UST as Cassie Carballo’s supposed championship-clinching dump was deemed a net fault allowing FEU to complete an epic fifth-set comeback to force a decider.
“Our spirits weere as high as the confetti flew. But after the confetti fell, so did our tempo.Psychologically, it was tough to handle. However, the experience taught us a lot,” said UST coach KungFu Reyes said.
“Be at the moment kasi kung hindi lang pumutok yung confetti nung Game 2 baka nanalo pa kami sa situation na yun kasi into the game pa yung mga player,” he added.
READ: Angge Poyos returns just in time to help UST Tigresses to V-League title
That became a reality check for the Tigresses, led by newly-crowned MVPs Angge Poyos and Carballo, to finally end a 14-year dry spell after outlasting Far Eastern University, 24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14, in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday at Philsports Arena.
“What really stuck with us was how we could recover because I always tell them that it’s not just about finishing with one point—it’s about how we bounce back from our mistakes. Don’t celebrate early,” said captain and libero Detdet Pepito in Filipino.
WATCH: The UST Tigresses enjoying the confetti. #VLeague2024 | @LanceAgcaoilINQ pic.twitter.com/8gsEE5G1uG
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) October 4, 2024
Since a successful year in 2010 when Aiza Maizo and Rhea Dimaculangan delivered a UAAP Season 72 and V-League title to the school, the Tigresses suffered a series of heartbreaks including the latest UAAP Season 86 Finals defeat to the National University Lady Bulldogs.
It started from the batch of Pam Lastimosa and Ria Meneses to EJ Laure and Sisi Rondina, who eventually teamed up with Eya Laure for a breakthrough Season 81 Finals in 2019 but ended up with a runner-up finish.
READ: V-League Finals MVP Cassie Carballo eager to keep on improving for UST Tigresses
“For how many years we tried, failed, tried, failed. But we managed to get to the finals. We went through many challenges but we never stopped,” said Reyes, who finally won a major volleyball league with UST since taking over in 2016.
“We are thankful for all of it because those are the things that will make the players stronger.”
UST Tigresses celebrate their championship in the 2024 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge. They beat the FEU Lady Tamaraws in three games. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
The Tigresses won’t stop with a preseason title as they hope to translate it into a UAAP success.
“The next opportunities, we just need to improve on them, work harder,” the UST coach said.
UST has a whole night to celebrate the V-League championship as it opens another preseason campaign in the Shakey’s Super League over the weekend.
“Happy pero marami kaming natutunan this league . Hopefully, madala namin and maitama namin sa next league namin ok naman din magcelebrate pero may game pa kami bukas. Masaya kami pero long way to go. Nakikita namin yung strengths and weaknesses namin,” Pepito said.