Retaining the Kim Fajardo-Cyd Demecillo tandem that made the finals last season, La Salle had an inside track on making waves again in Season 78 of the UAAP Beach Volleyball tournament.
Their start, however, was less than ideal, losing matches to fellow contenders, FEU and Adamson, in the first two days. Sitting out of the Final Four picture with a 2-2 slate, the La Salle players desperately needed to win their match against then-undefeated Ateneo to keep pace with the rest of the pack in their second match for the day last Sunday.
La Salle struggled mightily in the opening set, but picked themselves back up late in the following frame to force a third set. Fajardo and Demecillo traded blows with Tan and Valdez, eventually leading to a 12-all tie. With fatigue visibly setting in from playing in the PSL the previous day, and from their earlier match that same day, the Lady Spikers dug deep and pulled together three consecutive points to hand Ateneo their first loss, and to gain valuable ground in the crowded race to the Final Four.
“I feel relief,” Demecillo said after the match. “Siguro more on communication kami. Kasi ‘nung past games tahimik kami, parang nangangapa pa kami, wala kasi kami masaydong training. Nagfo-focus kasi kami masyado sa indoor. That’s not an excuse for our poor performance, we’re just going to try our best to get as far into the competition as we can,” she continued, saying that there was added intimidation given Ateneo was undefeated.
“Siyempre sobrang happy namin. At least wala nang sweep,” Fajardo answered when asked about the Ateneo win. “Siguro nag-adjust lang kami, saka siyempre Ateneo [‘yung kalaban].” She added that it was always great facing her good friend and former high school teammate, Alyssa Valdez. “Laban kami kung laban, pero sa labas ng court kita naman ng lahat na parang magkapatid na ang tratuhan namin.”
La Salle will face NU’s Jaja Santiago and Jasmine Nabor tommorrow, then head into a rematch of last season’s Finals against UST’s Cherry Rondina and Rica Rivera on Saturday. At 3-2, La Salle will need to win as much as they can to make a run at the Final Four. Ateneo, AdU, and FEU sit atop La Salle, who are tied with UST, in the standings.
“Wag lang kami magsawa, tuloy-tuloy lang kami. Last ko na kasi ‘to eh so dapat push na. Sayang naman kung panget ilaro ko,” Demecillo said.
When asked about their rematch against UST, Fajardo admitted that winning against the Tigresses still will not be easy, despite their similarly rocky start. “Siguro nasa player na yan eh – kung paano nila dadalhin ‘yung sarili nila kahit na talo o panget ‘yung simula. Kaya pa namin pareho makapasok sa Final Four kaya kailangan talaga namin sila (UST) paghandaan.”
