Undefeated De La Salle University has been dominant to say the least, winning seven of its nine matches in straight sets fashion.
Adamson University got a set against the Lady Spikers then there’s University of Santo Tomas – the lone team so far to drag La Salle into a five-set thriller.
Although the Golden Tigresses eventually folded in their five-set opening weekend matchup with Angel Canino and Co., 20-25, 25-16, 8-25, 25-15, 14-16, Eya Laure believes that should be enough fuel for them to bring come their second round collision on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Doon kami kukuha sa naging performance namin nung first round which is yung nag five-set game kami,” said Laure after UST beat University of the East last Wednesday for a 6-3 record.
“Ibig sabihin kaya namin. Doon kami kukuha ng motivation sa game na yun na kung kaya nila, syempre kakayanin din namin,” she added.
Golden Tigresses head coach Kungfu Reyes pointed out that for his team to be the first to crack La Salle’s armor, a lot of things have to click for them.
UST is no stranger to ending winning streaks though as it was Laure and Co. that stopped National University’s 20-game winning streak from Season 82 to their first two games in the ongoing season.
“Again ang pinaghahandaan namin ay kung paano kami gagalaw eh, ngayon sinong malinis ang galaw yun ang magma-matter. Sinong magtatapon ng bola this time?” shared Reyes.
“Last time nandoon kami sa mga lapses na yun especially latter part ng fifth set last three points kami ang nagconnect sa kanila so those things kailangan namin maicorrect.”
Reyes was referring to their woeful end in their first round game.
The Tigresses were up 13-12 in the deciding set when Jolina Dela Cruz fired an off-the-block hit before serving an ace for the match point.
UST then got lucky when Leila Cruz committed a costly error but Milena Alessandrini’s service in the ensuing play went long then Laure’s attack went out to give the Lady Spikers the win on February 26 in front of more than 6,000 fans.
With three days to prepare, Reyes and his team look to stage another upset, this time against La Salle, which just manhandled defending champion Lady Bulldogs in back-to-back games, both resulting in sweeps.
“Ipo-polish namin yung galaw namin, lahat ng score tatrabahuhin namin, siguro yung score ng kabila hindi na namin tutulungan kasi ang lalaki na ng mga non eh kapag tinulungan pa namin sila na manalo every point, wala kaming kalalagyan,” said Reyes.
“Pero kapag nalinis namin yung laro namin, yung galaw namin, execution ng play, service, etcetera kapag nadali namin yun baka naman makakapuwing.”
