MANILA, Philippines—La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus kept it real after the Lady Spikers’ stunning straight sets loss to defending champion National University in their opening game of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.

De Jesus said the setback may just be an early wake-up call for the Lady Spikers, who are determined to return to the top after a third-place finish last season.

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“Actually, this may be a wake-up call for them,” said De Jesus, who also acknowledged the high expectations surrounding his squad, after the 23-25, 21-25, 18-25 defeat Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena.

La Salle coach Ramil De Jesus after their opening loss to NU. #UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/xlL3c2Kqbt

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) February 16, 2025

“I think any new team will have high expectations, especially with La Salle. When you’re a team that has a Shevana (Laput) or a (Angel) Canino, you’ll really have high expectations.”

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READ: UAAP: Angel Canino says ‘expect a lot from me’ in La Salle title bid

Shevana Laput had herself a game, top scoring with 18 points while Angel Canino struggled with only seven points.

De Jesus, though, is confident that the Lady Spikers will learn from their mistakes.

After all, it’s just the first game of the season.

“I told them, nobody loses in a game as long as you know what you learned. If you lose and didn’t learn anything, you really lost. That’s important. You have to learn so you can correct it in the next games.”