UAAP: Xyza Gula sparks UST comeback for fourth straight win

UAAP: Xyza Gula sparks UST comeback for fourth straight win

Call it a test of character for University of Santo Tomas, and call it Xyza Gula’s coming out party.

Coming off the bench at the height of the Golden Tigresses’ struggles against Far Eastern University (FEU) on Sunday night, the diminutive Gula went on to hammer the Lady Tamaraws’ defense that stood like a wall in the first two sets as Santo Tomas notched a fourth straight win in Season 86 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament, a 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-7 escape act.

A good-sized Mall of Asia Arena crowd made up mostly of the Santo Tomas faithful saw Gula in her breakout game, as she finished with 13 points made up of 12 kills and an ace. She nailed the final two points that ignited a wild celebration in the gallery.

“I saw in the first and second sets that the team lost the fun in playing,” Gula said in Filipino. “I just came in and put that back in the team.”

It was the second straight five-set thriller that Santo Tomas survived as the Tigresses have now claimed victories over the toughest teams in the tournament, counting the champion of the last two seasons in National U and La Salle.

“It was a very tough game,” Santo Tomas coach Kung Fu Reyes said, also in Filipino. “Our rivalry with FEU has always been there and we have high respect for them. That’s why we prepared very hard for this game.”

The Tigresses still carved out the win despite finishing with 40 errors compared to the 16 of Far Eastern.

Barbie Jamili was also another one who came out of the shadows of her team’s stars after finally getting the opportunity to show what she is made of. And from the looks of it, she will be

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