UNIVERSITY of the Philippines tripped University of the East 25-15, 25-16, 25-22 yesterday to boost its semifinals bid in the V-League Collegiate Challenge women’s tournament at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Diliman-based crew rose to the second spot after the win with a 3-2 card, thanks to rookie Kianen Olango who paced the Fighting Maroons with 14 points, 11 off attacks and three kill blocks while skipper Nica Celis chipped in 11 markers.
The Fighting Maroons gained the solo second, only behind the unbeaten University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses’ 3-0 mark.
“We’re still looking for that cohesiveness, 70 percent ng team namin ay rookies, so we have to maximize the strength and find that strength pa,” UP coach Oliver Almadro said. “Good thing that there’s (the V-League) para nakikita namin kung ano iyong need pa namin.”
“Again, hindi pa ito iyong 100 percent namin, mga nasa 50 or 40 percent pa lang. But ang important is the players know their role. They know their role, they start knowing their role, so that in future games, they will have that much needed confidence,” he added.
