‘Kung Fu’ lauds young Tigresses’ showing

NO Eya Laure? No problem for University of Santo Tomas (UST).

The young guns of the Golden Tigresses overcame the towers of National University (NU) via sweep, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22, in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, February 18.

Full force on the side of NU as veterans Bea Belen, Sheena Toring, and Alyssa Jae Solomon were on the frontline, head coach Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes Jr. admitted that he was “shocked” for the winning result.

“The result itself is surprising. For my players, the way they execute inside the court is not new since I saw all of it during practice. But again I was shocked by the results and how NU played in today’s game,” Reyes told the press after the game.

Still, Reyes noted that the successful opener of the Tigresses is all because of the work they put in during their off-season training.

“Again, I am not surprised at how they performed but the results shocked me. This is all because of their training. Practice makes permanent, that is what happened today,” he said.

In her sophomore year as UST’s playmaker, Cassie Carballo made 20 excellent sets and scored six points in the game.

“I’m happy for the results of today’s game. I think we did not give in to the pressure, but instead, we enjoyed today’s game. We just put in all of the hard work that we did during our training,” she said.

The Lady Bulldogs who made its Finals appearance in UAAP Season 85 and finished silver lost their key-cog players Ces Robles, Joyme Cagande and Jenniifer Nierva.