Poyos close to completing her promise as UST nears title

MANILA, Philippines — Behind Angge Poyos’ stellar rookie season was a promise to UST coach KungFu Reyes to do better in college after an underwhelming performance in the UAAP girls’ volleyball tournament last year.

In her first collegiate Final Four, Poyos imposed her dominance with a game-high 28 points to propel UST into the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball Finals after a five-year wait with a 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-7 win to dethrone La Salle in front of 19,505 fans at Mall of Asia Arena.

“Sobrang saya kasi first season ko pa lang ito Grateful kasi naidala namin, nairaos namin and nakapasok kami ng finals this season,” said the super rookie Poyos, who drilled 25 kills, two aces, and a block to maximize their twice-to-beat advantage.

READ: UST Tigresses dethrone La Salle, return to UAAP volleyball Finals

Poyos revealed that she wanted to bounce back from a subpar stint in Season 85 girls’ volleyball, where the Junior Tigresses placed fourth with a 5-5 record.

“Binawi ko rin yung high school performance ko kasi nga ibang iba talaga sa performance ko ngayon. Pinangako ko kasi sa sarili ko na babawi ako [sa UST] at babawi ako kay Coach KungFu,” she said.

Reyes was proud of Poyos after staying true to her promise as she and her high school teammate Em Banagua showed maturity beyond years in only their first collegiate stint by making a huge impact in the young Tigresses’ unexpected run.

“Sasandalan namin nung high school days nila [si Angge at Em] kaya lang medyo naging shaky yung naging performance. Ganito na siya maglaro hindi lang siya ganun ka-mature. Sabi ko nga, hinihintay ko lang yung maturity niya. Nung binigyan ko siya ng mahiwagang regalo, medyo natauhan naman siya na,” the UST coach said.

READ: UAAP: Inspired by doubters, UST Tigresses end finals drought

Reyes taught Poyos to be brave, which has also been the character of the Tigresses this season, proving that losing Eya Laure and several key players won’t stop them from going all the way to the top.

“Binigyan namin ng pampatapang. Nagtiwala pa rin siya kung ano yung bright future na pwede naming i-offer sa kanya kasama ang buong komunidad ng University of Santo Tomas,” he said.

Poyos has a strong case to be the third rookie MVP of the league although her only goal is to win a title for UST.

Now that the Tigresses are just two wins away from ending a 14-year title drought, Poyos promises to go all out in the finals against either FEU or NU.

“Sinumulan namin ng maganda itong season na ‘to and I hope matapos namin ng maganda,” Poyos said.