THERE's always a first time for everything, and it will soon be National University and University of Sto. Tomas that'll take center stage in their first-ever UAAP women's volleyball Finals matchup come Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The two schools are also in a title rematch over in the men's division.
Season 86 will also mark the eighth straight season in which the top two seeds will duke it out for the championship since Season 77 in 2015, with the No. 1-seed winning six of the last seven title series.
The last second-seed to win it all in the women's tilt? La Salle over Ateneo in 2016 which also saw Alyssa Valdez play her final UAAP game.
READ: Friends since 'nene days,' Belen, Pepito now face off in grandest stage
It took two different paths for the top-ranked Lady Bulldogs and second-seeded Tigresses to reach the championship round, with the former outlasting Far Eastern University in two games and the latter dethroning La Salle in their one and only Final Four faceoff.
But all roads lead to one destination: the best-of-three Finals wherein NU will shoot for a second title in three seasons (fourth overall) as UST eyes a 17th UAAP women's volleyball crown.
Will the young, 'undersized' Tigresses scale new heights after a five-year Finals absence or will the Lady Bulldogs complete their redemption tour with championship glory?
One last stop for NU's revenge tour
From the highs of a 16-game tournament sweep in Season 84 to end a 65-year title skid, the Lady Bulldogs couldn't overcome a vengeful Lady Spikers side that went on to reclaim their throne the following season.
But with La Salle now out of the Season 86 title equation, an emerging force in UST enters the fray, looking to put an end to a 14-year title drought.
Championship experience has been fairly recent for NU, spearheaded by the league's first women's volleyball rookie-MVP in Bella Belen who has emerged as a frontrunner for the top individual nod this season.
A second MVP nod for Belen, who averaged a near-triple-double of 14.6 points, 11.4 digs and 9.4 receptions in the elimination round, would make her only the fifth player to win the award multiple times after Ateneo's Alyssa Valdez, La Salle's Aby Maraño and Desiree Hernandez and FEU's Ailyn Ege.
From a team standpoint, however, NU was left stunned on opening weekend with a 19-25, 23-25, 22-25 loss to their soon-to-be title foe. Belen was held to single digits with nine attack points despite a strong defensive stance with 17 digs and nine receptions.
A masterful response came the following round with a four-set victory for the Lady Bulldogs as Belen (24 points), Vange Alinsug (18 points) and Alyssa Solomon (17 points) axed the Tigresses' historic 8-0 start.
Redemption was the Lady Bulldogs' preseason battlecry. But after a shaky start to the season, the former MVP underscored the need to put in the work first before setting their sights on championship glory.
"'Yung redemption naman po, medyo kinalimutan muna namin siya. More on work muna kami. Kailangan naming mag-trabaho dahil 'yung redemption na 'yun, makakamit namin siya 'pag ginawa namin 'yung trabaho namin this season," said Belen.
"Kahit nagkaroon kami ng mga losses this season, 'yun 'yung nagpatatag pa sa'min as a team. Du'n kami sinubok pero talagang nag-stick kami as one," she added.
Ibabalik ang korona sa España?
España's 'Mini Miss UST' had to endure and overcome a longer wait to return to the title series where they aim to snap an even longer championship drought that stretches back to Season 72 in 2010.
In similar fashion, UST was the No. 2 seed and also with a 12-2 (win-loss) card when it last won the title through a two-game sweep of La Salle. The Tigresses' current deputy, Shaq delos Santos, was head coach of the last star-studded, title-winning side which featured the likes of Finals MVP Rhea Dimaculangan, Aiza Maizo, Ge Tabaquero and Dindin Santiago, among others.
And the stars have also brought former Tigresses coaches-turned-Lady Bulldogs mentors Norman Miguel and Karl Dimaculangan in what will be a mini-UST reunion in the Finals.
More recently, UST has laid a five-year Finals drought to rest and one that the current Tigresses will look to bounce back from after yielding a 1-0 series lead to then-champion Ateneo back in Season 81.
And against all odds since losing their 'ates' Eya Laure, Imee Hernandez, Milena Alessandrini and KC Galdones prior to Season 86, the Tigresses' young blood led by third-year captain Detdet Pepito etched their names in UST lore with their best-ever start to a season at 8-0 and nine-year head coach Kungfu Reyes' best single-season record to date at 12-2.
Youth-laden Tigresses side
Such feats all emerged for a team that had six rookies led by top rookie frontrunner Angge Poyos and seven sophomores, with Pepito the lone junior.
Five years since their Season 81 title series heartbreak, Reyes vowed that UST will do all that it'll take to finish the story they've failed to finish and make history of their own.
"'Yung 2019 (na tinalo namin La Salle sa Final Four), sabi nga 'history repeats itself' pero this time, babaguhin namin 'yung result. Pipilitin namin 'yan. Kaya 'yung sinasabi na 'yung hardwork, 'yung tsina-tsambahan namin 'yung mga laro namin, pipilitin ulit naming maka-tsamba pagkapasok ng Finals," said Reyes.
"Wala naman kaming masabi sa mga batang 'to kundi kung ano 'yung puhunan namin, kung bakit kami nandito sa harapan niyo, talagang purely hardwork. No more drama. Walang ganun na ini-entertain. Kaya we will keep the team intact especially dito sa pagpasok namin sa Finals para talagang maging memorable. Again, babaguhin namin kung ano 'yung nangyari nu'ng 2019."
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