THE UAAP

Games Today
(Filoil EcoOil Center, San Juan)
9 a.m. — NU vs UST (men)
11 a.m. — NU vs UST (women)
3 p.m. — UP vs UE (women)
5 p.m. — UP vs UE (men)

REIGNING champion National University (NU) and tormentor University of Santo Tomas (UST) slug it out in an all-important duel for an inside track to the second seed in the final week of the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Center.

Revenge versus mastery will be the name of the game at 11 a.m. as the Lady Bulldogs seek to return the favor on the Golden Tigresses for a chance to move one foot inside the coveted No. 2 spot that comes with a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

The Final Four, with De La Salle (12-1) at No. 1, is already set in stone except for the rankings from second to fourth, with NU and UST currently tied at 9-3. Adamson University (AdU) is not far behind at 9-4.

NU still has Ateneo or ADMU (4-9), Santo Tomas has University of the Philippines or UP (1-11) and Adamson has FEU (6-7) as their final assignments in a mad dash to the finish.

And a win today for either the Golden Tigresses or the Lady Bulldogs would certainly move them closer to that bid.

“We’re in the Final Four and we should aim higher but it will not be easy,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes, whose wards look for a repeat feat on NU.

The Golden Tigresses in the first round hacked out a 25-23, 27-25, 17-25, 22-25, 15-11 win to end the Lady Bulldogs’ 20-game win streak highlighted by a 16-0 sweep of Season 84.

But as much as NU wants all the smoke for a desired vengeance, Season 84 MVP Mhicaela Belen warned against emotions as possible hindrance to their game plan.

Meanwhile in the second match at 3 p.m., UP and UE aim a graceful exit. NU (12-0) and UST (10-2), as well as UP (1-11) and UE (4-8) also clash in men’s division at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. — John Bryan Ulanday

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