University of Santo Tomas (UST) has two cracks at a Final Four berth in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament. Wasting either one is not an option for the Growling Tigresses.

Knowing how quickly things can turn here, the Tigresses intend to get it done on the first try when they battle host University of the Philippines (UP) as the league resumes this Wednesday.

“We’re entering our last two games. Hopefully, we can overachieve,” head coach KungFu Reyes said in Filipino. “It’s become a race for rankings and nobody’s safe anymore.”

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At 8-4, Santo Tomas can book a semifinal ticket outright with a win over the Fighting Maroons in a key clash set at Mall of Asia Arena, while a loss brings in all sorts of complications—including the possibility of ending up in a playoff for the last Final Four slot.

But Reyes made his intentions clear following his squad’s rout of hapless University of the East, a result that gave the Tigresses momentum heading into the Lenten break.

“We’ll aim for the highest rank possible. And if we can, we’ll try to force a triple-tie [for the second-best record], and that should keep us in the race for a twice-to-beat advantage,” he said.

The Tigresses will have very little room for error in this stretch as they battle a UP side clinging on to its wafer-thin hopes of advancing.

“As long as we’re holding on, there’s a chance,” Joan Monares said following the Maroons’ upset of La Salle last week.

UP has embraced the role of giant slayer, adding yet another traditional power to its list that already includes defending champion National University.

The Tigresses refuse to be part of that ignominious lot. And they hope to avoid it by sticking to what has worked during their three-game winning streak.

“With all the sacrifices we’ve made, that’s where we get our strength,” said libero and team leader Detdet Pepito. “The loss to La Salle really hurts, but that became one of our biggest motivations. After that, I felt—we just can’t afford to lose anymore.

“Now we’re beginning to realize that we are truly capable. And now the Final Four’s ahead,” she added. “Everything else is out the window.”

A UST win would mean a semifinal berth, and hopes fanned for a playoff bonus. A loss will send Reyes, Pepito and the rest of the Tigresses to a must-win against a juggernaut in the Lady Bulldogs, with a pair of defeats to plunge the squad into a path no one wants.

Every point now matters. And Pepito knows it.

“It’s very important that we win every set first [of our last two games],” she said. “And then we take it from there.” INQ