The NU Lady Bulldogs continue to have the number of the UST Golden Tigresses, extending their win streak to five against their UAAP title rivals.
The NU Lady Bulldogs took care of business even in a non-bearing game for them as they beat the UST Golden Tigresses in a five-set thriller, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 15-9, to end the UAAP Season 87 elimination round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
Despite being assured of a twice-to-beat advantage as the no. 1 seed in the Final Four, NU came out to play against their title foes last year, denying the Golden Tigresses of the other playoff bonus.
UST thus needs to face off against the DLSU Lady Spikers for a virtual best-of-three semis, where they first must formally decide the no. 2 seed before the Final Four proper.
UST, La Salle, and FEU all finished with identical 9-5 records, but the Golden Tigresses and the Lady Spikers get ahead by points and set ratio. NU topped the standings with a 12-2 mark.
In the fifth set, both NU and UST were neck-and-neck with long rallies sprinkled in the heart-stopping affair.
But midway through the set, NU uncorked a 5-1 run to create breathing room against UST, 12-7.
Bella Belen provided the finishing touches to the victory, including back-to-back points which put the Lady Bulldogs into match point, 14-8.
Alyssa Solomon was the one to convert on the winner, though, as she played into UST’s block with a smart hit to end the match, 15-9.
The win thus made it five straight victories for NU against UST since the second round of UAAP Season 86.
Belen was the Player of the Game as the MVP frontrunner finished with 26 points, 17 excellent digs, and 13 excellent receptions.
NU will be facing the FEU Lady Tamaraws with the twice-to-beat advantage in the semis beginning next weekend.