La Salle, one of the most established programs in the UAAP, is having an uncharacteristic start to the Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
But despite being on a virtual a roller coaster, the Lady Spikers are not disheartened. Rather, it’s pushing them to keep moving forward and do better.
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“Even if we are coming from a loss and our standing is on the edge, our mindset is still one day at a time,” Angel Canino said after leading La Salle to a 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17 triumph over University of the Philippines on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 87 volleyball tournament first round
“The good thing now is that we are gaining confidence as a team and on ourselves, and hopefully, we get to bring that in every game,” Canino added after finishing with 24 points made up of 20 attacks and four blocks.
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The Taft-based crew improved to a 2-2 card, one of their losses coming via straight sets to defending champion National University and the other, a tough five-set loss by University of Santo Tomas (UST) just last week.
This is their worst start since Season 68 back in 2006, when the Lady Spikers opened up with a 1-2 record but still eventually won it all. That’s what this batch of Ramil de Jesus’ charges is looking at now.
“It was a tough loss against UST. We really held on and fought but we came up short,” the La Salle captain said. “We really need to double our efforts and have [a stronger] connection among each other.
“After that loss, everyone immediately adjusted, moved on and made it as motivation to be better next time,” she added.
Better connection
The need for a much better connection stems from having a lot of rookies on the team after the departures of starting cogs, counting towering middle blocker Thea Gagate and setter Julia Coronel, who are now in the PVL.
“What’s different now is we aren’t consistent because there’s a lot of new teammates [including] the setter,” Canino said. “We have a lot of young ones with us so everyone really needs to adjust, [both] the young and the seniors.
“But now, we are slowly coming together and reaching our goal—the goal that coach Ramil wants.”
Shevana Laput helped with 21 points from 15 kills, three blocks and the same number of aces, with sophomore Lilay del Castillo producing 11 points that included four blocks and two aces.
“What we want to see from them is to be tough in every game,” said assistant coach Noel Orcullo. “We are going to go through [this difficult phase of adjustment.]”
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“As the older ones inside the court, we remind everyone to do what we can in every game,” Canino said. “[Execute] what we came here to do and the reason why we are fighting.
“We remind them that this is not just a game and we need to keep in mind the motivation why we are fighting.” INQ
