UST’s Angge Poyos during a playoff match against La Salle in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Angge Poyos rued University of Santo Tomas’ missed chance to take the No. 2 seed and twice-to-beat advantage against La Salle in their UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball playoff.

But the UST star emphasized that there’s no time to dwell on the heartbreaking loss with a Final Four showdown against La Salle slated Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“The game was close, we’ve only been losing by two or three points,” said Poyos after her all-around game of 24 points, 13 digs, and 12 excellent receptions went for naught in a 25-23, 20-25, 28-30, 27-29 loss to La Salle on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

READ: UAAP: La Salle claims twice-to-beat, fends off UST 

Angge Poyos vows to bounce back when UST takes on the twice-to-beat La Salle in the Final Four. #UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/mptgHp4OnY

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“We just need to keep trusting ourselves, our coaches, and the system. I really believe we still have something to show on Saturday. We’ll be reviewing our lapses, and hopefully, we can take the win this time. We’re more fired up now… and in this kind of battle, we know we still need to beat La Salle twice. But we believe we can do it.”

UST will be in a different situation this time as La Salle got the twice-to-beat, unlike last year when the Tigresses were the second seed and ended the Lady Spikers’ title defense in the Final Four.

Poyos said confidence will be vital for UST after La Salle tallied a season-high 20 blocks.

READ: UAAP: UST, La Salle on a destined collision course in Final Four

“It’s really about self-confidence. La Salle’s a tall team and they can match up well with our wing spikers. So, just like coach says, it’s not all about power—we need to make smart decisions and play with more thought behind our attacks,” said Poyos.

Poyos vows to bounce back stronger and keep UST’s season alive by forcing a decider in the Final Four.

“The coaches said this is already the third chance that the Lord has given us to win. So Saturday is our last shot to prove to ourselves that we can do it. We’ll go back to training and fix the lapses from today’s game,” she said.