UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas captain Detdet Pepito kept her chin up even after losing a close five-set contest to their UAAP Season 86 finals tormentor and defending champion National University.
With the sorry loss to NU just one of two they had in Round 1, Pepito still liked what she saw from the Golden Tigresses over their first seven matches — particularly with their newfound confidence since losing three of their spikers to injuries.
READ Shared lineage: How one coach unlocked Bella, Detdet's potential
“Itong round na ‘to talaga yung nagbigay ng kumpyansa sa team namin na kaya pala talaga namin kahit maraming key players yung nawala,” Pepito said.
“Unexpected na ganito yung magiging record namin kahit na medyo panget yung pinakita namin nung first games pero medyo naging okay na rin naman nitong past few games.”
UST lost Jonna Perdido (left ACL tear) and Xyza Gula (fractured tailbone) during the offseason. Kyla Cordora (left ankle sprain) would then be added to their injury list after only their second game of the season against University of the East.
It goes without saying for the Golden Tigresses captain that there still is a huge void yet to be filled on offense, with their scoring leaders Season 86 Rookie of the Year Angge Poyos and opposite hitter Reg Jurado in need of extra scoring support.
“Yung ka-diagonal ni (Angge) Poyos, kailangan makita namin yung perfect match para sa kanya kasi as of now, hindi pa rin namin nakikita,” Pepito said.
Defense wins championships
What concerns reigning best libero Pepito the most — maybe even more than the absence of its spiking trio — is the team’s floor defense.
Although second in the league in digging, UST has struggled in passing the first ball off the opponent’s serve as it ranked second to the last among the eight teams in the receiving department with a meager 22.1 percent efficiency.
From an individual standpoint, Pepito dropped to sixth in the league in receiving after Round 1 at 32.61 percent — even behind MVP duo Angel Canino in fourth (34.93 percent) and Bella Belen in fifth (33.58 percent) despite being spikers and not liberos.
If the Golden Tigresses were to polish up their act, Pepito knows it has to start with their ball control.
“Du’n din kami malakas ‘eh, sa digging talaga, pero I think yung receiving talaga yung sobrang mababa. Yun talaga pinag-tatrabahuan namin,” the UST captain said.
“Very challenging talaga siya kasi nagiging tactical lahat ng teams na umiiwas sa’kin kaya ipu-push pa namin yung team. Dati kasi, parang libero lang yung nag-eextra, pero ngayon, lahat ng passers at players, nag-eextra na.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
