By: Ohmer Bautista
Coming off their a morale-boosting win over the Adamson Lady Falcons last Wednesday — which was their breakthrough win of the season, the University of the East Lady Warriors were bolstered with much-needed confidence entering their game against the Ateneo Lady Eagles.
The lone bright spot for UE that game had been Judith Abil, who was the sole double-digit scorer for the Lady Warriors with 14 points to go along 18 excellent receptions.
For her part, as one of the mature voices of the team, Abil attributed their recent downfall to the lack of confidence.
“Nawawala kami sa loob ng court,” Abil expressed moments after suffering their third loss of the season. “Nawala lang talaga kami ng kumpiyansa sa sarili namin. ‘Yung receive namin, ‘yung service din namin, wala-wala. Puro outside, puro net.
“So kung papasok man, maka-ace naman, after mag-service ulit, error kaagad.”
UE head coach Karl Dimaculangan, who replaced interim coach Rod Roque, echoed the same sentiments.
“Inconsistencies pa rin every game ‘yung mahirap sa kanila eh,” the youthful mentor lamented. “Mas kinakabahan pa ko sa nilalaro nila versus sa kalaban. Siguro ‘yun ang problema muna.
“Iisipin ko pa kung anong kailangan gawin.”
Aside from the lack of consistency that continues to mar the Lady Warriors, Dimaculangan also attributed their loss to intimidation which stemmed from facing a team as battle-tested as Ateneo
“Noong tinatanong ko sila kung intimidated ba kayo, may intimidation factor. Medyo ilang sila eh. Hindi normal ang ginagalaw namin sa past games namin. Medyo intimidated pero sana maka-recover nalang kami for next game,” Dimaculangan added.
Still, despite their woeful play, Abil and the Lady Warriors are fully committed to bounce back and repay the trust that coach Dimaculangan has been giving them.
“Bukas po ng morning, magta-training po kami. Magfo-focus po kami sa service, receive namin kasi ‘yun ‘yung nawala sa’min kanina tsaka blockings,” Abil shared.
“Kasi sila coach Karl sa’min, sobrang laki ng tiwala sa’min kaya gagawin namin ay ipakita lang sa loob ng court ‘yung best namin.”
