Em Banagua raises her bar with 8-block performance in UST’s Final Four clincher

Em Banagua made her presence felt at the net in a historic way, powering the UST Golden Tigresses to a straight-sets victory over the UP Fighting Maroons, 25-20, 25-21, 25-18, to clinch a Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Banagua tallied 12 points, highlighted by a career-high eight blocks, tying for the third-most in UAAP history and putting her alongside elite names like former MVP Jaja Santiago and fellow UST Tigress Riri Meneses.

The UAAP record is 11 blocks, set by Ateneo’s Maddie Madayag in 2019 in a five-set win over UST. The next best mark is nine blocks, achieved by the likes of La Salle’s Celine Hernandez and UP’s Pling Baclay.

“In the future, feel ko yung eight blocks ko gawin ko sa siyang standard,” Banagua said postgame, acknowledging the milestone but already looking ahead.

“Syempre may mga factor para magawa ko yun, pero sa training kailangan ko i-focus pa yung details sa blocking.”

Banagua added: “Pangalan pa lang middle blocker, that’s the role namin. Kailangan kill block, pero malaking bagay din na at least ma-check yung bola para maka-depensa.”

The win bumped UST to 9-4 and eliminated UP (6-7) from semifinal contention, locking in the same Final Four cast from last season: NU, UST, La Salle, and FEU.

Angge Poyos once again led the Tigresses’ scoring with 19 points on 18 attacks, while Reg Jurado chipped in 13.

UST’s defensive wall, anchored by Banagua, held firm all match, stifling UP’s final push for a playoff spot.

UP’s Niña Ytang managed 16 points in the loss.

With one game left in the eliminations — a clash against top-seeded NU — UST now sets its sights on a twice-to-beat advantage, still up for grabs among La Salle and FEU.

(With reports from Xander Cipriano/One Sports)

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[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]