Lucille Almonte was delighted to witness and engage with a resilient roster of young talents after Adamson University made a remarkable five-set comeback against De La Salle University, securing a 22-25, 25-17, 17-25, 27-25, 16-14 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series in the 2023 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals on Wednesday.
“I’m so happy kasi hindi ko naramdaman na rookies sila,” the newly inducted Lady Falcons team captain said in the postgame interview.
“I feel like para na rin silang senior kasi every time na I demand, sumusunod sila so hindi sila mahirap pagsabihan.”
Almonte, alongside Ayesha Juegos, Sharya Nicole Ancheta, and Lorene Toring, led the new era of Lady Falcons, who battled intensely against the reigning UAAP Season 85 champions, particularly during the fourth set rally when Adamson was trailing with an 11-20 deficit. This effort brought them closer to clinching this year’s SSL title.
“Paulit-ulit kong sinasabi sa kanila, hanggang ‘di natatapos yung game, ‘wag naming sukuan… ‘Every point, kailangan natin paghirapan,’” said Almonte, who dropped 24 points.
Super rookie Red Bascon shone among the former members of the Baby Lady Falcons, amassing seven points, including the score off-the-block in the fifth set that brought the Lady Falcons to match-point, 15-14.
“Sobrang desidido po talaga na makuha ‘yung game po na ‘to… ‘yung eagerness ko na makatulong, nando’n po talaga,” Bascon said.
Now taking on a leadership role for Adamson after former Lady Falcons Kate Santiago, Trisha Tubu, Ckyle Tagsip, and Cae Lazo turned professional with the Farm Fresh Foxies in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), Almonte ensured she instilled a competitive mindset in her teammates as they prepared to face La Salle in Game 2 on Saturday.
“Ngayong nanalo kami, yung mindset namin is mas tiyagain pa namin kasi we all know marami pa kaming lapses, marami pa kaming errors. So kailangan agad trabahuhin and then double hardwork talaga,” she said.
The same sentiments were echoed by the current Lady Falcons head coach, JP Yude, as the Lady Spikers were already a familiar adversary in the UAAP for Adamson.
‘Kailangan gustohin palagi natin manalo.’ — Yun lagi yung sinisink-in ko sa kanila kasi, ‘when it comes na tatapak tayo sa court, kung maglalaro lang tayo (at) kung La Salle kalaban natin, kakainin tayo nang buhay ng La Salle,’” Yude said.
“‘Yung La Salle, matatalino yan. Yung mga coaches nila, matatalino yan, pinag-aaralan din natin.’” he added.
Boos also emerged from the crowd after an undisputed call on Bascon’s final play against La Salle’s Shevana Laput, which awarded match-point to Adamson late in the fifth set.
However, Almonte reminded her team to remain focused on their game and not allow distractions from the audience to affect their performance.
“I always remind them na wag nilang pansinin yung crowd kasi hindi naman sila yung naglalaro sa loob. Kami yung may control sa loob and then ayon, focus lang talaga,” she concluded. (Jose Gabriel Ignacio)
