After a surprising loss to the Adamson University Lady Falcons late in the first round, Ramil De Jesus knew he needed to reach his wards.
“Parang pambarangay lang ‘yung nilaro nila,” De Jesus told the media right after the loss.
Since calling out the Lady Spikers, De Jesus saw his team play with a fire. They ended up winning the next 11 games en route to their 11th program title, losing just four sets in the process.
Looking back, De Jesus himself thought he was misinterpreted by fans and media. But he knew exactly how his players would take it.
“Well ayung sinabi ko naman na ‘yun, not necessary na pambarangay. Kumbaga, sinabi ko ‘yung word na pambarangay, sa barangay magulo, hindi naman ‘yung tipong ‘yung laro,” De Jesus quipped.
“Kasi sa barangay kasi, pwede na ‘yung for fun, ganon lang. Hindi naman ganoon totally.
“Medyo pinalaki lang ng ano. Hindi ganoon ang ibig kong sabihin noon. Kung hindi ko naman siguro sinabi ‘yung ganoon… Sa mga bata kasi, kilala na kasi ako ng mga ito eh,” he pointed out. “Kung ano man ang sabihin ko, alam nila kung bakit ko sinasabi ‘yun. And sa ngayon siguro, ano, isang key ‘yun para iayos nila ang sarili nila, pero kaya ako nagsalita ng ganoon, hindi ko gusto ang performance nila. ‘Yun lang ‘yun. So nag-work naman.”
He also admitted that the Lady Spikers weren’t totally prepared to start the season. He trusted his team to adjust.
“Very hard kasi start ng elimination shaky ‘yung team e. Twice kami natalo so, yun ang sinasabi ko sa kanila, ‘pag nag-start ang season ‘di naman tayo masyadong ready,” he admitted.
“Sa haba ng season, naayos namin kung ano ‘yung naging problema ng team. Ready naman sila na maayos ang sarili nila.”
Safe to say, the Lady Spikers are no longer at the barangay level.
