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UST's Meneses rises to coach's challenge

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/04/02/040217-meneses.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">UST&#x27;s Ria Meneses file photo. <cite>Arvin Lim, <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/volleyball/photos" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports</a></cite></div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – One game after being singled out by her coach for failing to do her job inside the court, University of Santo Tomas&#x27; (UST) veteran middle blocker Ria Meneses responded by putting on her best performance of the UAAP Season 79 tournament.Meneses took charge for the Tigresses at the net, tallying a season-high eight blocks against University of the Philippines (UP) on Sunday. Her strong defensive effort set the tone for UST, and they came away with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 victory over the Lady Maroons in a crucial game.Meneses, the Best Blocker in the UAAP Season 77 tournament, finished with 10 points in the game and drew praise from UST coach Kungfu Reyes for her superb effort.&quot;Siguro, maganda ang gising ni Ria,&quot; said Reyes. &quot;Alam naman niya kung paano mag-block. May mga times lang na mabigat ang pakiramdam, &#x27;yun ang isang sakit din ng isang player.&quot;&quot;Pero ang importante, nakakabalik siya, at ang confidence level niya, okay na ulit,&quot; he added.[Ria played well today. She knows how to block, but sometimes she can just be off. The important thing is that she bounces back, and her confidence level is rising again.]<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/news/2017/04/02/wala-kaming-time-na-mag-drama-pa-up-s-diana-carlos-24107">READ: Wala kaming time na mag-drama pa -- UP&#x27;s Diana Carlos</a></li></ul>Reyes revealed that ahead of the game, he and the UST coaching staff issued a challenge to Meneses. &quot;Bago kami mag-start, sabi namin as coaches na very uncharacteristic. Best Blocker ka, wala kang naba-block. Very uncharacteristic, kasi first time mo mag-one point,&quot; he said.[Before we started, the coaches told her that her performance was uncharacteristic. She was a Best Blocker, but she couldn&#x27;t block. Very uncharacteristic. She only scored one point for the first time in her career.]The coach was referring to Meneses&#x27; paltry production against De La Salle University in their previous game, which saw the Lady Spikers steamroll the Tigresses, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21. Meneses scored her lone point of that game through a service ace, as she muffed all of her four block attempts.After that game, Reyes had been critical of his veteran middle. &quot;Totally wala (ang middle blockers). &#x27;Yung Best Blocker namin, walang na-block,&quot; he said at the time.[Our middle blockers were not there. Our Best Blocker didn&#x27;t block anything.]He repeated his words to Meneses before they played against UP, and this time, the veteran made sure she would respond in a positive way. Meneses was a force at the net, even wagging her finger against the Lady Maroons after a kill block, Dikembe Mutombo style.&quot;Grabe lang din &#x27;yung push sa akin nila coach, at saka ng parents ko,&quot; said Meneses. &quot;Pinu-push nila ako na huwag panghinaan ng loob, na ilabas mo lang &#x27;yung natural na laro.&quot;[My coaches and my parents really pushed me and encouraged me, to stay strong and to play my natural game.]Meneses admits that Reyes&#x27; words had a mixed effect on her – &quot;Parang pinu-push na parang nado-down,&quot; she said of her reaction. Ultimately, however, she chose to use it as a motivation.&quot;Pero mas tinake ko siya na mas nakaka-boost siya kasi malaki ang tiwala sa akin ng coach ko,&quot; she said.[I had a mixed reaction to it, but I took it as a boost because it shows that my coach really trusted me.]Thanks to her excellent performance and their victory, Meneses&#x27; confidence is sky-high heading into their final game of the elimination round against National University on Saturday. A victory will give them the third seed in the Final 4.&quot;Siyempre, mas napataas din namin &#x27;yung confidence namin,&quot; she said. &quot;Kasi &#x27;yung UP napakatagal naming hindi matalo. At siyempre, pinu-push ko din lalo ang sarili ko. Kung sa UP, nagawa ko, paano pa doon sa next game namin?&quot;[Our confidence is rising, because we haven&#x27;t beaten UP in a long time. I also push myself, because if I can do it against UP, then that means I can also do it against our next opponent.]For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a>

One game after being singled out by her coach for failing to do her job inside the court, University of Santo Tomas' veteran middle blocker Ria Meneses responded by putting on her best performance of the UAAP Season 79 tournament.

One game after being singled out by her coach for failing to do her job inside the court, University of Santo Tomas' veteran middle blocker Ria Meneses responded by putting on her best performance of the UAAP Season 79 tournament.

UST's Meneses rises to coach's challenge

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UST's Meneses rises to coach's challenge

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 02, 2017 10:18 PM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

volleyball

UST Tigresses

Ria Meneses

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