After a promising sweep of the UST Golden Tigresses on opening day, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles faltered against the National University Lady Bulldogs, ending their near three-year dominance of the Sampaloc-based spikers.
The Lady Eagles came out of the gate sluggish, struggling to pass and, consequently, attack. When they got their bearings, the Lady Eagles had already fallen into a 0-2 hole.
According to third year open hitter Jhoana Maraguinot, the Lady Eagles failed to answer NU’s tough serving, blocking, and, most importantly, their composure.
“It’s a learning experience kasi we started bad. Nahirapan kami sa confidence sa sarili namin. Sinubukan namin bumawi sa receive noong third set kasi first set pa lang wala na kami agad noon. We just took it one point at a time, one receive at a time,” the 21-year-old said.
“Ang galing ‘rin ng NU. Nahirapan kami sa defense nila, sa blocking nila. First set pa lang na-intimidate na kami. Ginamit talaga nila ‘yun to make us think.”
Even if they are composed mainly of young players, Maraguinot thinks their team had what it took to pull off close wins even without a veteran like Alyssa Valdez.
“Hindi naman [namin na-miss]. Siguro kasi nag-aadjust lang din kami sa kalaban and sa pressure sa sarili namin. Kailangan namin talaga matuto humabol kapag lumalamang ‘yung kalaban,” Maraguinot said.
Third-year middle blocker Bea De Leon compels her team to learn from the loss and immediately move forward.
“Naunahan lang siguro. I don’t know. The thing with losses, you should never overthink them too much,” the 20-year-old shared.
“Let’s say, what did I do today to make it so wrong, or like, what happened that gave us such a slow start. Sometimes, it just really happens. And when it’s a loss, you don’t look too much into it. Actually, in anything, the more you look into it, the more it’s gonna make you overthink and the more it’s gonna constrict you. So nothing too technical. Bawi na lang.”
The schedule does not got any easier for the Lady Eagles as they face the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Sunday, February 12 at the FilOil Flying V Centre. And the Lady Eagles are looking to push the pedal right from the get-go.
“For sure, they’re going to try to pounce on us. This time, we just have to react to it better. It’s going to be tough for us again,” the 5-foot-11 middle blocker vowed.
