The De La Salle University Lady Spikers’ win over the Ateneo De Manila University Lady Eagles was momentous.
It was La Salle’s first win against Ateneo in two years. The pain of two Finals losses still lingering, the Lady Spikers played with unseen tenacity.
But DLSU still had a match left on their first round schedule. Faced with a hungry University of Santo Tomas squad, DLSU could not muster the same edge they had against the defending champions.
La Salle bowed out in three sets, giving UST a much-needed confidence boost.
“Kahit ako hindi ko rin masagot yan dahil nakita ko kanina sa loob,” a disgruntled DLSU head coach Ramil De Jesus told reporters when asked about his team’s struggles. “Lalamang pagkatapos magra-rally itong kabila so makikita mo na inconsistent sobra, even sa service. Then yung attack, medyo malambot yung attack kanina. Sobrang dominated kami ng attack ng UST.”
“Siguro may factor pa yun, baka medyo hanggang ngayon nasa cloud 9 pa,” De Jesus added when asked about his team possibly suffering from a overconfidence after the Ateneo win.
The Lady Spikers held late leads but were unable to keep them in each set. De Jesus was frank when he questioned his players goals during their post-match talk.
“Tinanong ko, kasi marami kasi dyan na last playing year. Tinanong ko kung hanggang ganito gusto nila sa buhay nila, or gusto sa sarili nila na ma-achieve sa taon na ito. Hindi daw. So bakit ganun ang laro? Ibig sabihin, andun yung katawan pero wala ang isip, mental.”
After such a short match, the Lady Spikers were keen to immediately work on their mistakes. If he had it his way, the Lady Spikers would have a training session when they got back to campus.
“Ngayon meron (training), siguro mga correction lang. Kasi kanina madaming hindi lumabas sa pina-practice. Pauwi na rin kasi naman. Di ko pa sigurado kung may gym na madadaan. Tignan natin kung makaka-singit kami. Possible kung magkakaroon ng slot. Kung wala namang slot, eh di wala,” De Jesus closed.
