MANILA, Philippines – New season, same challenges for the UST Golden Tigresses.
Following a silver-medal finish in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament, the Tigresses find themselves in a familiar situation as they enter the new season shorthanded following the losses of key players Jonna Perdido and Xyza Gula due to injuries.
Last year, UST suffered a huge blow in the finals as its Season 86 Rookie of the Year Angge Poyos sustained an ankle injury in Game 1 of its best-of-three series against the powerhouse NU Lady Bulldogs.
Despite getting hit by the injury bug once again, the Tigresses remain upbeat of their chances as they look to return to the finals and hopefully win it all this time around.
“It’s hard, especially that it’s our key players who we’ve lost,” said UST captain Detdet Pepito in Filipino.
“But we accepted it and I think we’re ready for whatever comes our way, similar to what happened to Angge (Poyos) in the finals. We really prepared ourselves for those kinds of situations.”
With UST fielding in a relatively young roster with several rookies, led by Marga Altea, UST co-captain Reg Jurado hopes the Golden Tigresses quickly gain experience and immediately grow as a team as the season goes along.
Aside from Altea, the Golden Tigresses will also feature rookies such as Ashley Knop and Kyla Cordora, who UST head coach Kungfu Reyes expects to step up to the plate right away.
“We’ve had a short preparation since the departure of Ate Jonna (Perdido), who is one of the pillars of the team. Like what Ate Detdet (Pepito) said, we’ll try to fill the void (left by Pedrido and Gula) as the season is ongoing,” said Jurado.
“Hopefully, through experience after a few games this UAAP, we’d reach our goals in terms of performance,” she added.
The Golden Tigresses aim to open their Season 87 campaign on a winning note when they go up against the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Saturday, February 15. – Rappler.com
