De La Salle University needed two hours and 37 minutes just to overcome Ateneo De Manila University in what turned out to be a five-set thriller between the two rivals on Tuesday evening.
Trailing by a 2-1 set deficit midway through the contest, the team had to dig deep in order to stay alive and extend the game. The Lady Spikers eventually found their rhythm as they bagged the last two sets to notch their fifth consecutive victory, 19-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 15-12.
“Actually, ang message lang talaga is kailangan gustuhin niyo. So kung mas gugustuhin niyo, makukuha natin,” said DLSU assistant coach Benson Bocboc. “So buti naman nag-respond ‘yung mga players and we got the win, so talagang ginusto nila eh.
“Bawat point nakikita niyo napakahirap.”
In a tightly-contested matchup, the Lady Spikers leaned on Jolina Dela Cruz who produced her best outing this season with 14 points on 12 attacks to go with 15 excellent receptions. Despite putting up a solid performance, she went on to deflect the credit to her teammates who simply refused to give up as they ground out a huge win over their rivals.
“Siguro po, I give credit po sa team kasi teamwork talaga siya eh. ‘Di lang isang tao ‘yung gumagalaw sa amin, so lahat kami kailangan bantayan, and lahat kaya mag-provide ng puntos, and ayun lang, siguro teamwork talaga,” said the sophomore outside hitter. “Tiyaga. Mahalaga pag ‘yung team mo grabe ‘yung pagtitiyaga kasi super hirap kunin ng one point eh. Kapag nagrarally pilitin natin makuha ‘yung puntos na ‘to.
“Hindi pwedeng bumitaw.”
Bocboc himself saw how hard the players worked as they went up against a streaking Blue Eagles side that was coming off a confidence-boosting win over the Growling Tigresses last week.
He knew that it will be a tough game for them but the perseverance of the Lady Spikers eventually paved the way for them to escape with the victory and book their 12th straight Final Four appearance.
“I guess makikita natin talaga ‘yung mga pinakita ng players to build from a loss tapos going torwards sa straight wins,” he claimed. “Hindi madali ‘yung pinagdaanan dahil ‘yung Ateneo mainit din na tinalo nila ‘yung UST nang madali lang. So makikita natin ‘yung bawat set paghihirapan talaga, bawat puntos paghihirapan.
“If you don’t know kung sino makakuha until pagdating, ‘pag pumatak ng 20 talaga ‘yung score, lalaban ng lalaban talaga ‘yung both teams. Kaya mahirap, so siguro ‘yung plays din napunta sa amin on this day, so we’re thankful for that. Tapos ‘yung hardwork nang bawat isa nag-pay off.”
Now armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the Lady Spikers are filled with more confidence as they aim to finish the elimination round on a high note before heading to the playoffs.
“Siguro, super importante ng twice-to-beat. Kasi pinilit namin manalo today para makuha ‘yung twice-to-beat na ‘yun,” Dela Cruz shared.
“Ayun nga, pag hawak mo ‘yung twice-to-beat na ‘yun, parang you are very confident na maglaro. Kasi eto, meron kami neto na may pinanghahawakan kami na twice-to-beat kami.”
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