ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Collegiate devider UST savors sweeping golden finish

UST savors sweeping golden finish

Published Jul 27, 2026 01:46 pm

At A Glance

  • It was short but sweet for the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses.
UST Golden Tigresses (SSL)
UST Golden Tigresses (SSL)
It was short but sweet for the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses.
Marching into their first tournament following the departure of key senior players and in the absence of their injured main setter, the Golden Tigresses found a way to bring out their fierce growl and translate it into a breakthrough championship in the 2026 Shakey’s Collegiate National Invitationals.
UST came out firing on all cylinders and captured the throne in a sweeping fashion to punctuate the Espana-based squad’s dominance in the international-flavored weeklong tournament backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, and R and B Milk Tea.
The Tigresses rolled past every obstacle for an impressive perfect seven-game romp capped by a come-from-behind, 22-25, 25-8, 25-12, 25-22, winner-take-all championship win over College of Saint Benilde on Sunday, July 26, at the Playtime FilOil Arena in San Juan.
“Siyempre, sobrang happy dahil ‘yun nga nakuha namin ‘yung championship,” said UST head coach Shaq Delos Santos, whose squad dropped only a total of two sets the whole competition.
“Sabi ko nga medyo short ‘yung preparation namin but ang good thing kasi ‘yung response din ng mga players and also coaches sa sistema na ina-adjust namin. I think ‘yun ‘yung malaking bagay. Good thing dito, nakita rin namin kung ano pa ‘yung mga kailangan naming i-improve. Sobrang dami pa namin kailangan ayusin,” added the architect of the Tigresses’ last UAAP championship 16 years ago.
Skipper Regina Jurado and Most Valuable Player Angge Poyos stepped up not only on offense but also in their roles as leaders of a Tigresses side filled with young guns.
The duo delivered the much-needed points in the title showdown with Jurado pumping in 21 points and Poyos scoring 20 as UST surpassed its third-place finish in 2023 by capturing the elusive crown in the competition supported by Jetour, Baic, Eurotel, Victory Liner Rent & Go, F2 Logistics, Summit Natural Drinking Water, PusoP.com and Smart Sports.
Rookie Kim Rubin, who helped UST’s high school team rule the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League Rising Stars Cup and was named MVP last May, added 12 points while middle blocker Blessing Unekwe scored seven of her 10 points on kill blocks, highlighting the Tigresses’ collective team effort.
“Hindi naman naging sobrang hirap for us na i-guide sila kasi sumusunod din naman sila and kung ano yung system na meron sina coach talagang sinusunod lang namin. And ayun nga nakuha namin ang championship,” said Poyos, who took over as one of UST’s leaders after the graduation of former team captain and top libero Detdet Pepito.
Setter Arlene Waje, meanwhile, embraced the playmaking position after Cassie Carballo was forced to sit out the National Invitationals due to a leg injury.
Waje effectively filled the big shoes left by Carballo by dishing out 22 excellent sets in the finale to help the Tigresses pour 56 kills.
“Sarap pala mag-champion. Nakalimutan ko na eh. Ganun pala ‘yung pakiramdam na nagtsa-champion. Sobrang thank you kay Lord kasi ‘yung opportunity na makuha namin yung championship this tournament even though short time lang ng tournament na to, sobrang laki para sa amin,” Delos Santos said.
Having tasted the sweetness of winning a championship, UST is looking forward to completing a season title sweep when it marches back into action for the prestigious Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Preseason Unity Cup in September.
The Tigresses eye redemption after a runner-up finish last year behind four-time champion National University.
“Laking tulong nito, laking impact. And mas magiging inspired kami para trabahuhin pa namin 'yung mga susunod na tournament,” Delos Santos.
All games in the competition, backed by technical partners Philippine Sports Commission, Commission on Higher Education, Mikasa, Asics, Rigour Technology and Team Rebel Sports, are available live and on-demand via PusoP.com livestream and Solar Sports.

Related Tags

UST SSL
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.