When people heard about the Ateneo Lady Eagle reunion that was happening in the V-League, almost everyone expected a powerhouse team that will easily breeze through the opposition. What the fans forgot to factor in though was that majority of the team have been inactive from the indoor volleyball circuit for the past five months.
Last Monday, the Water Defenders showed rust in their game as a young Philippine Air Force squad upended Bali Pure in four sets, 25-23, 14-25, 25-19, 25-16.
Both Denden Lazaro, who last played competitively during the V-League’s open conference a year ago, and Ella De Jesus, who was inactive for the last five months, admitted that they had a tough time during the game due to the lack of familiarity with each other.
“Kapaan talaga since we haven’t played with each other for so long,” Lazaro shared to Tiebreaker Times. “Good thing din na dumating today si Mic [Marciano] since kulang pa yung gel namin as a team and the chemistry.”
“Nandun pa rin naman yung skills but kulang lang sa endurance and sa gelling inside the court.”
De Jesus, who scored 12 points in their debut, then added, “It’s hard! We really lacked training for this game and some of us din matagal nang hindi nagsasama sama sa court. We’re kind of adjusting pa but sana makabawi kami sa next game.”
Contrary to what many people thought, the idea of a Lady Eagle reunion was not actually planned for a long time. “Bigla lang talaga,” the 22 year old De Jesus recalled. “One time we were training for beach volleyball and then we decided ‘huy, let’s play indoor. Let’s go!’ Kaya ayun.”
“We were joking about it before to form a team na kami-kami rin. We didn’t know na magkakatotoo siya,” the two-time UAAP best receiver added. “I’m really happy that we made our dream come true.”
Lazaro, who is currently on break from Medical School, vowed that she will devote time to training with the team since she is currently on summer break. The same can’t be said about De Jesus, though, as she currently juggles work and this endeavor. “Hirap mag-adjust kasi sa umaga work ka then we have to rush all the way here for the game. Pero it’s all mental e,” De Jesus admitted.
“Unlike before game lang iniisip mo sa isang araw. Makakapag-visualize ka na about the game. Now, it’s different. Sa umaga yung mind ko nasa work tapos bigla ko kelangan mag-switch sa game naman.”
When asked to quantify where they are now, the two UAAP champions shared they are far from what they are actually capable off.
“Wala pa atang 50,” De Jesus quipped. “Kasi wala pa talagang training. Siguro pag nag-training na kami magiging comfortable na kami sa court. Hopefully, makuha na namin by next game.”
“Siguro mga 20 percent pa nga lang kami,” Lazaro answered. “I think I, personally, can do a lot better from my performance today. We really have to prepare for the next games.”
Both volleybelles shared that besides winning, the most important thing for them is to just enjoy each moment of this reunion since it might be a long time before they could share the courts after this tournament. “We don’t feel any pressure. We’re just enjoying since reunion nga ito, we just want to enjoy and to feel the feeling before na we’re playing together,” De Jesus closed.
Bali Pure (0-1) will have a tough task in their next outing as the Water Defenders are scheduled to face the NU Lady Bulldogs (1-1) on Monday, June 6 at 4:30pm.
