MANILA, Philippines – For University of Santo Tomas (UST) head coach Kungfu Reyes, there is no shame in admitting that the Tigresses lost to a better team in their UAAP Season 79 Final 4 showdown against defending champion De La Salle University last Saturday.

The Tigresses advanced to the semifinals for the first time in five seasons, but their stint in the Final 4 proved to be a brief one as the Lady Spikers dismissed them in four sets.

• READ: Lady Spikers march to ninth straight Finals stint

"We never settle for less, kaya lang, hanggang doon lang muna (kami) siguro [this is the end of the road for us, for now]," Reyes told reporters at the end of the game.

UST posted its best campaign in years, with a 9-5 record in the elimination round. That impressive slate did not come by accident; UST had two of the best players in the league in Sisi Rondina and EJ Laure, and they rode the pair's overwhelming offense en route to the Final 4.

Unfortunately for the Tigresses, the Final 4 proved to be a different beast entirely. Against a La Salle team that was determined to recover from a shock loss to Ateneo de Manila University at the end of the elimination round, UST simply had no answer.

"Naramdaman din nila na ganito ang pakiramdam ng Final 4, kapag ganito ang labanan na," Reyes said of his players. "'Yun kasi ang part na 'yun na hindi namin maituro, kasi 'yun ay experience."

"S'yempre, marami kaming ginawa para dito sa laban na ito, kaya lang, hindi nag-materialize," he admitted. "Kung ano ang plano namin, hindi lumabas lahat."

[They realized that it's different in the Final 4. That's something we can't teach, because you only learn that through experience. We did try to do something different for this game, but it didn't materialize.]

Their best moment came in the third set, when the Tigresses leaned on Laure's emotional return from an ankle injury to hack out a 26-24 win. However, the momentum shifted in the fourth frame; La Salle surged to an 11-1 lead, and UST was never able to rally back into the game.

Still, Reyes says they have no reason to be ashamed of their effort. For the veteran coach, the Tigresses achieved all the goals that they had set for the season, and more.

"Ang hinihingi lang naman sa amin ay pumasok kami sa Final 4," he pointed out. "Na-overachieve namin – nag No. 3 pa kami."

"Very rocky, very wavy ang start namin, 1-3. Meron nga 'di ba na walang talo, pero nasaan sila ngayon? Kami, sumubok kami ng sumubok, hindi kami umayaw," he stressed.

[We were asked to make it to the Final 4, but we overachieved and reached the No. 3 seed. We had a rocky start, but we're still here because we tried our best and we never gave up. Some teams had better starts, but where are they now?]

The Final 4 appearance will serve as UST's stepping stone for next season, said Reyes.

"Dito kami natapos, dito kami ulit magsisimula," he said. "Hindi kami pwedeng bumaba ulit."

"Talagang hanggang dito lang muna," Reyes added. "Sa susunod naman, hindi naman kami magse-settle sa Final 4. Dapat naman, mas mataas sa kung saan kami nagtapos ngayon. Hopefully, Finals. Kung mag-cha-champion kami, then additional blessing for us."

[This is all we can do for now, but next time, we won't settle for the Final 4. We should improve upon our finish this year, and hopefully, reach the Finals. If we win the championship, then that's an additional blessing for us.]

UST will lose veterans Pam Lastimosa, Patty Rasmo, Chloe Cortez, and Alex Cabaños to graduation, but Reyes will still have a strong squad in Season 80 as Laure and Rondina are tipped to return, while setter Alina Bicar should be better after getting more exposure this year.

If middle blocker Ria Meneses returns for her final season, UST should be a contender once more in Season 80.

"Hopefully next year, maging aral ito sa amin – na pagpasok ng Final 4, iba naman ang usapan," said Reyes.

"Siguro naman, sa pagkakataon na ito, 'yung mga player na mismo ang magsasabi na babawi kami next year, kasi grabe ang pinaghirapan nila," he stressed.

[Hopefully next year, this will be a lesson for the players – that it's a different story once you reach the Final 4. This time around, I hope that the players will take the initiative to say that they'll bounce back next year, because they've worked hard for it.]

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