UAAP finals-bound Golden Tigresses thank doubters
MANILA, Philippines — The UST Golden Tigresses have hurdled every challenge they’ve faced en route to a return trip to the finals in UAAP Season 86, as they ended a five-year absence in the championship round.
At the beginning of the season, no one really expected the outcome.
As two teams stood as title favorites — last year’s finalists, DLSU and NU.
But from the get-go, UST proved itself as a dark horse, beating the NU Lady Bulldogs in straight sets in their season opener. They also won their first eight games of the tournament — a historic record.
Nevertheless, as the Golden Tigresses headed to the semifinals, the naysayers remained.
Despite everything, when it mattered the most, UST powered through.
Reminiscent of their journey to the finals in 2019, the Golden Tigresses dethroned defending champions La Salle in dramatic fashion, clinching their finals berth in five sets at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
Up against the perennial powerhouse, and their scores of supporters, UST, anchored by their captain Detdet Pepito, drew strength not just from those who believed in them, but also from those who didn’t.
"Una sa lahat, thank you sa mga bashers kasi ginawa talaga namin silang inspirasyon. Unang-unang game pa lang, alam naming maraming, pano ba, ayun kumukutya na 'ay wala to',” said Pepito after the game on Sunday.
“Yun, napatunayan namin nung unang game, nakita namin kung ano yung kapasidad ng team namin and yun, trinabaho lang po talaga namin and ayun, gusto ko lang din magpasalamat sa lahat ng naniniwala, manalo, matalo, thank you po, and kay Lord," she added.
More than proving the doubters wrong, Pepito and the rest of her teammates also savored the opportunity of avenging their loss last year to La Salle as well, which denied them entry to the finals.
The loss gave a sour ending to the UAAP careers of the likes of Eya Laure, Imee Hernandez, KC Galdones and Milena Alessandrini.
Now that they turned the tables on La Salle, it gave the opportunity to turn the victory much sweeter.
"Unbelievable po yung feeling kasi parang ako, lalo ako, parang nasanay kasi ako na lagi kong ka-teammate si ate Eya, syempre nandun talaga yung una, napangdududa na parang pano na yung team,” said Pepito.
“Tapos parang biglang napili akong captain ball parang 'sure ka coach?' Nung napili ba ako parang, ewan ko ba. Pero ayun, dine-dicate din po namin sa mga seniors ko na yun naibawi namin kayo ates," she added.
Still, the job’s not finished for the Golden Tigresses as they are set to kick off their best-of-three finals series next week.
They await the winner of the winner-take-all match between NU and FEU on Wednesday.
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