Following their upset win against NU, the UST Golden Tigresses face the UE Lady Red Warriors, led by rookie Casiey Dongallo, in their upcoming match on Wednesday.
After their stunning upset win over the NU Lady Bulldogs in their opening game of UAAP Season 86, the UST Golden Tigresses will face another dangerous squad in their upcoming match on Wednesday.
Standing in their way are the UE Lady Red Warriors, who flexed their muscles in their own four-set win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday led by super rookie Casiey Dongallo.
The California Academy product finished with 27 big points, while her teammate Kizzie Madriago also produced 16 excellent sets in the win.
With this in mind, coach Kungfu Reyes is not one to take the Recto-based squad lightly despite UE’s starting lineup being composed of mostly rookies.
“California [Academy] is one of the best high school programs,” Reyes said during the post-game press conference on Sunday.
“Young at age pero sa experience, baka mas marami pang nilaro sila kesa sa mga ito. So, ganun ‘yung liga na nilaruan nila. Seasoned player na rin yan in a way, so hindi mo puwedeng biruin o i-underestimate ‘yung mga bata,” he added.
The same sentiment was shared by fellow super rookie Angge Poyos, who produced 16 points in UST’s win over NU.
“Madaming rookies din sa kanila. [Ang] masasabi ko sa kanila, magagaling [at] nandun ‘yung skills. Magkakatalo nalang sa tibay ng loob, tibay ng dibdib,” said Poyos.
[ALSO READ: UAAP: Angge Poyos not satisfied despite solid rookie debut for UST]
As the Golden Tigresses look for a 2-0 start in the season, Reyes will look to make sure that his team will be laser focused against the Lady Warriors.
“Sa part namin, ‘yung respeto ibibigay namin sa kanila. Paghahandaan din namin sila, so nakita naman namin ‘yung laro nila,” said Reyes. “There’s no more secret. Nakalabas na halos lahat ng tao namin, sila ganun din, so patibayan nalang ng dibdib.”
The UST-UE match will kick off on Wednesday, February 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 4:00 p.m.