RED-HOT University of the Philippines (UP) tests its mettle against perennial favorite De La Salle in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78 women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
The Lady Maroons put their four-game winning streak on the line as they face the second-running Lady Spikers at 4 p.m.
In the first game, University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Adamson University clash at 2 p.m., with both teams trying to rebound from a loss.
The Tigresses are at sixth spot with a 4-5 win-loss mark while the Lady Falcons are at seventh with 3-6 slate.
UP aims to strengthen its Final Four bid as the Diliman-based team is currently running solo third with a 6-3 win-loss record, trailing La Salle by one game (7-2).
Lady Maroons Head Coach Jerry Yee hopes his wards can bring their “A” game and will be banking on super rookies Isa Molde and Diana Carlos, as well as veterans Kathy Bersola and Nicole Tiamzon.
“We hope to give La Salle a good fight. Win or lose, as long as they show improvement, that’s what we’re up to,” Yee said.
Lady Spikers Head Coach Ramil de Jesus, whose team is coming off a rousing straight-sets win against Tigresses last Saturday to avenge their stunning first-round loss, is wary of the promising and dangerous young guns of UP.
“We all know that the UP team is still young,” de Jesus said. “But the way they perform shows that age doesn’t matter, once they become more mature it would be hard to beat them.”
La Salle will try to end the four-game winning streak of the Lady Maroons and grab a share of the lead with Ateneo (8-2).
In men’s play, Far Eastern University takes on Adamson at 8 a.m. followed by La Salle-UST clash at 10 a.m.