One (more V-League title) For UST!

University of Santo Tomas' Rhea Dimaculangan made her customary serve and the ball sailed past the net and into San Sebastian libero Margarita Pepito.

Usually, it would be an easy reception on that sequence. But alas, Pepito botched the reception and the ball sailed into the first row and all of the sudden the Tigresses ran into center court to celebrate another championship.

The Espana-based squad are winners again, for the third straight time in the Shakey's V-League, a 25-20, 25-27, 25-12, 25-15 over the Lady Stags.

That error epitomized the story of this third-and-deciding game to decide the champion of the league's First Conference of 2010 and also characterized what these two protagonists are made off.

UST, a team used to crucial situations, plays loose and executes near-flawlessly even without injured star Angeli Tabaquero and a hobbled Maru Banaticla.

San Sebastian is perhaps the league's version of the 1990's Atlanta Braves. The Lady Stags have been a contender each conference only to lose in the finals fives times in six appearances.

Contributions were scattered for the squad of Shaq delos Santos. Aiza Maizo, obviously was there and made statement shots with her power spikes that truly made her a deserving Finals Most Valuable Player for the second straight conference.

Veteran Mary Jean Balse showed her veteran presence and was also key in keeping the Tigresses consistent on the receiving end. Of course, who can forget her four service aces in 9-0 run in the third set that turned a slim 12-9 lead into a 21-9 advantage.

Dimaculangan, of course, with her service and also sometimes surprise the San Sebastian receivers with some drop balls. Maika Ortiz defended and scored on quick points.

And maybe the game-changer was lanky Dindin Santiago. After spending the first two games on the sidelines, she was inserted into the starting lineup, produced nine points on blocks and quick points.

Solid game for Santiago but nonetheless played a big factor. Her performance did put things in perspective. Rumors are circulating everywhere that this conference might be the last time we saw her in a UST uniform, perhaps joining another UAAP team that has overnight became a major recruitment powerhouse.

It's tough to speculate but it seems that this win validated those reports when you her getting emotional with tears and teammates hugging you with total love. But then, we'll find out soon.

Possibly, tears and disappointment was felt on the other side of the fence. It was San Sebastian's fourth loss to UST in a finals series. Perhaps hurting more is Thai import Jeng Bualee.

Since making her V-League debut in 2006, Bualee has developed into one of the league's most popular players and also the epitome of some volleyball fans who dislike the idea of allowing teams to hire Thai imports in order to be competitive.

But despite all the individual accomplishments, she is a queen without a crown. In five finals appearances, including the recently-concluded series, Bualee has yet to savor the taste of winning a V-League championship.

Bualee, who had 16 points, did try to give San Sebastian its second league crown but all of her shots were almost thwarted by the UST blockers and sometimes when the ball sailed past them, it only led to shots that landed outside.

So it will wait till next conference for this Thai import again. Same goes for Roger Gorayeb, who was obviously disappointed with the loss citing lack of effort from his squad and commit almost two dozen errors (22 to be exact) in most important game of the tournament.

Unless the Lady Stags get that mental approach in winning V-League, they will have to deal with more heartbreaking defeats.

The end of the First Conference saw UST as winners again and the league's balance of power retaining the status quo.