MANILA – The UST Golden Tigresses on Saturday proved that the defending champions NU Lady Bulldogs are not untouchable in the UAAP Season 85.

And this was the motivation rookie Regina Jurado kept in her mind before stepping on the court in fifth set, facing the erstwhile undefeated Lady Bulldogs at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Inisip ko na beatable sila kasi this season hindi naman po eto yung first game na naka-five sets sila, nung last time Adamson po,” Jurado said after the five-setter win against NU.

“So nilagay lang namin yung heart namin lalo na magenjoy kasi yun yung pinakaimportante kapag nasa loob ng court para mawala yung pressure at takot.”

This mindset worked for Jurado, who top-scored for the Tigresses with 18 points aside from 11 excellent digs.

According to Jurado, she relished the experience to get a big win over a powerhouse team and to be able to contribute significant numbers to UST.

Head coach KungFu Reyes, on the other hand, was not surprised at Jurado’s solid performance, as they are now reaping the benefits of the investment they sowed in UST's high school program.

• UAAP: UST ends NU’s 20-game winning run in 5-set marathon

“Hindi naman ako nagulat, [kasi] ever since naman ganito na maglaro. Iniintay ko lang sila magmature ng sabay sabay. Ito na yung investment na ginawa namin all throughout. Si Regina almost six years sa program, ngayon andito na sa spotlight,” Reyes said.

He is happy at how Jurado showed maturity in the game, managing to recover from third and fourth sets losses.

“May mga ups and downs na laro pero what’s important is paano siya magrecover and how they accept kailangan may action na, kailangan maintindihan nila na hindi ganung madali. Ito ang resulta pero grabe yung pinaghihirapan nila sa training so that’s why binibigay nila yung all nila every game, every set and every point,” Reyes added.

UAAP Season 85 is streaming on iWantTFC every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, available for Premium users outside the Philippines.