The championship brought an air of relief to Taft after consecutive disappointing seasons since winning the championship in Season 76. Beating their Katipunan rivals only made the breeze that much fresher.
Amidst the celebration, the Lady Spikers are busy preparing for their season, which kicks off in February.
If seeing their prized men’s basketball counterparts win the UAAP championship adds pressure to their campaign, the Lady Spikers admit that no matter what happens – no matter which other La Sallian team wins a UAAP championship – the pressure remains the same for them.
Since head coach Ramil De Jesus took over in 1998, La Salle has won eight UAAP championships – the same number the Men’s basketball has won since joining the UAAP. They’ve made the Finals more than a dozen of times and, although five of their core players from last year graduated, the expectation for the Lady Spikers is still to defend their championship.
“Lagi namang may pressure, hindi ‘yan nawawala,” De Jesus told Tiebreaker Times.
“Madalas kaming umaabot ng Finals and ilang beses na ‘rin nag-champion so alam na ng mga bata na may winning culture talaga ang La Salle at nasa kanila na para ipagpatuloy ‘yun.”
And De Jesus also feels that the La Salle community in general pays more attention to the Men’s basketball team’s exploits.
“Sa La Salle naman, karamihan ng alumni mas tutok talaga sa basketball. Meron din naman sa amin, pero ‘di kasing rami ng sa kanila. So ang pressure talaga sa amin is hindi naman nanggagaling mostly sa labas, sa loob din ng team,” he added.
De Jesus’ players echo their coach’s sentiment.
“For me, it doesn’t add too much pressure kasi, now that basketball’s over, it means na malapit na ‘yung volleyball. It means kami na ‘yung next na matututukan ng La Salle community and that’s always exciting,” expressed starting middle blocker Majoy Baron.
“Lagi namang nandoon ‘yung pressure no matter what at lalo na ngayong defending champions kami,” Macandili, the first ever libero to win an MVP award in the Philippines, added.
Both Baron and Macandili will be expected to carry much of the leadership role left by stalwarts Mika Reyes, Ara Galang, and Cyd Demecillo.
Aside from producing statistically, the pair needs to develop the poise and maturity expected from a senior Lady Spiker.
“May kaunting pressure doon kasi kami na nga lang ‘yung natira. Ginagawa na lang namin ‘yung best namin sa training. Pinag-aaralan namin kung paano mag-lead and, at the same time, we’re working hard to get good chemistry so ready kami mag-contribute lahat,” Baron, the Tarlac-native, claimed.
“Tinatry ko lang ‘yung best ko na maging good role model lalo na sa mga bata kasi karamihan sa amin ngayon bata or bago sa team. I just try to do my best so hopefully they also do their best,” Macandili, a La Salle-Zobel product, explained.
“‘Yung weakness ko talaga before is ‘yung kumpiyansa. Lagi ko lang sinasabi ngayon sa mga bata kong teammates na try talaga nila ‘yung best nila na makuha ‘yung kupiyansa nila para pagdating sa game, buo na ‘yung loob nila,” added Macandili.
Asked which team they were looking forward to face, both Lady Spikers claimed that Season 79 will be challenging right from the first match.
“Everyone’s preparing, everyone’s looking to prove themselves kaya tingin ko it’s going to be a good and challenging season for everyone,” closed Baron.
