With Far Eastern University aiming to stay in the thick of a tight Final Four race in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Tournament, Cla Loresco delivered at the perfect moment with a breakout performance for the Lady Tamaraws.
The 19-year-old middle blocker uncorked a career-best 17 points built on 10 attacks, four aces, and three blocks in FEU’s tight, four-set win over fellow postseason contender University of the Philippines, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, on Sunday evening at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
Loresco’s heroics not only helped the Lady Tamaraws snap a two-game skid, but also pushed FEU into a three-way tie for third place. They joined Adamson University and the University of Santo Tomas in a crowded race for the last two Final Four berths with two matches remaining in the elimination round.
For Loresco, however, FEU’s standing in the playoff picture was not her main motivation. Instead, she focused on bouncing back from subpar performances earlier in Season 88 for the Tina Salak-mentored squad.
“Siguro nung mga past games namin, alam ko naman sa sarili ko na hindi pa ‘yon ’yung todo ko na laro. Parang nanonood ako ng games ko dati at kung paano ako tumiming sa palo, kung paano ako mag-service, at kung paano ako mag-block,” the homegrown product from FEU-Diliman shared postgame.
“Ngayon, kailangan lang talaga humingi ng tulong kay Lord kasi palagi naman siyang nandiyan. Kailangan ko rin bigyan ng action para mag-meet kami halfway ni Lord.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Head coach Tina Salak, for her part, felt pleased with the timing of Loresco’s career-best outing. She noted that in just her second year, the San Jose del Monte, Bulacan native has shown growing maturity and composure as FEU continues its bid to end a 14-season title drought.
“Yung sa amin naman ni Cla kasi, never too late, lagi ko ’yan sinasabi. If bad game today or bad day ngayon, there’s another day para ma-improve namin yung game niya. But still, nagkaroon ng composure si Cla. Nagkaroon siya ng identity na this time, hindi na ito puwede; sinusubukan siya every time. Nagkaroon din siya ng identity na kailangan siya ng team this time,” Salak said.
“Nagkaroon siya ng maturity sa lahat ng ginagawa niya, even inside and outside the court. But still, kung ano yung nakita natin kay Cla today, ito pa lang yung start. Para sa amin o para sa akin, i-advise ko lang na hindi lang isang beses puwede mong magawa yung 17 points. It’s a matter kung paano tayo magtiwala sa sarili natin na kaya natin kung paano tayo mag-deliver para sa team,” she added.
Looking ahead to FEU’s final two elimination round matches that could decide their Final Four fate, Loresco vowed not to rest on her laurels and to continue improving both her on-court performance and off-court leadership.
FEU will next face Adamson University in a crucial match-up with major Final Four implications on Saturday, April 18, at the same UST venue, before wrapping up its elimination round campaign against Ateneo de Manila University on April 22 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Yung thoughts ko lang, dapat hindi pa ako ma-satisfy sa gano’n na galaw kasi alam ko na meron pa akong kayang gawin at kaya ko pang angatan ‘yon. Sa game namin today, sobrang proud and happy ako sa ginalaw namin. Thank you, sa teammates ko at kay Lord,” the 6-foot-1 middle blocker said.
“Sobrang laking bagay sa akin ng araw na ito kasi na-boost masyado yung confidence ko to play pa. I know kailangan din ako ng team. Thank you kay Ate Tin (Ubaldo) at kay Ate Aly (Devosora) kasi maganda rin pinakita nila. Next games naman namin, mabigat, kaya kailangan naming gawin yung best namin at magkaroon din kami ng composure sa isa’t isa at sa sarili namin at ng pasensya.”
