The University of Santo Tomas came agonizingly close to its first win, only to watch it slip away again. Arellano University escaped with a five-set victory, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 13-25, 15-12, on Saturday, August 29, at the Gameville Central Park in Mandaluyong City.

The result kept the Golden Spikers winless through three matches in the 2026 V-League Collegiate Challenge. Arellano, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 in the standings.

UST’s Late Rally Falls Just Short

UST clawed back from a 2-1 set deficit to force a decider, fueled by John Catinsag’s clutch service ace. The Golden Spikers looked poised to finally break through after that momentum swing.

Arellano, though, refused to let the match slip away. The Chiefs built a 10-6 cushion in the final set behind a CJ Dominguito off-the-block conversion.

UST mounted one last push after an Arellano attack error from Jiwen Sinuto briefly opened the door. But Gboy de Vega’s service error sealed UST’s fate, ending the Golden Spikers’ comeback bid after two hours and eight minutes of play.

Arellano head coach Bryan Vitug credited his team’s composure in the tight finish. “Mag-focus lang kami, point by point,” he said. “Ang importante eh, 100% effort talaga para makuha naman ang panalo.”

Dominguito Leads the Way for Arellano

Dominguito paced all scorers with 21 points to lead the Chiefs’ offense. Arvin Garcia provided solid support with 11 points of his own.

UST’s offense wasn’t the problem despite the loss, with four players reaching double digits. De Vega led the way with 18 points, while JJ Macam and Trevor Valera each added 16.

Catinsag chipped in 10 points in the defeat. Arellano will look to build on the win against De La Salle University on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10:00 a.m.

UST, meanwhile, will have two weeks to regroup before facing Mapua University on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 3:00 p.m. The Golden Spikers will hope the extra rest helps them finally close out a match they’ve now come close to winning multiple times.