Photo from Shakey's Super League media bureau
MANILA – The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses flexed muscles early as they pummeled the Perpetual Lady Altas to kick off the 2023 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Collegiate Preseason Championship Season 2.
The Golden Tigresses hammered a 25-12, 21-25, 25-15, 25-21 win over the Lady Altas at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City Saturday.
A roaring 12-2 start set the tone for UST before recovering from a second-set mishap by owning the next two frames for an early 1-0 lead in Pool C of the 16-team tournament.
Super rookie Angeline Poyos, the Best Outside Hitter in the SSL National Invitationals where the Golden Tigresses finished third, picked up where she left off by hammering out 20 points on 16 hits to show the way for UST.
Meanwhile, Kyla Cordora and Regina Jurado chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.
“Medyo marami pang kailangang ipagpag, especially sa 2nd unit,” said coach Kungfu Reyes.
“Actually, wala namang nabago sa (2nd unit) namin. ‘Yun pa rin yung naglaro last time. Kailangan lang namin ayusin. Though nanalo, it’s a good game. A win is a win. Next game is Monday so kailangang maayos namin ‘yung galaw namin.”
As UST went berserk in the first set, Perpetual returned the favor in the second frame with its own 8-3 hotstart to equalize the match at 1-1 behind the efforts of NCAA MVP Mary Rhose Dapol and Winnie Bedaña.
But with Jurado and Cordora, UST rediscovered its groove, dominating the third set with a 10-point win before holding on just enough in the clincher from nearly wasting what seemed a comfortable 23-16 lead.
Dapol and Bedaña bannered the Lady Altas with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UST shoots for a 2-0 mark against Letran on Monday while Perpetual takes a long break before plunging back to action against the same team next Monday.