Winless no more!
University of the East made sure to give its all against University of the Philippines to end its 12-game losing streak and secure its first win in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament.
Team captain Ja Lana and rising rookie KC Cepada both agreed that with nothing to lose, the Lady Warriors just needed to play their hearts out to avoid a winless season.
“Inapply ko lang po ‘yung sinasabi po sa amin ni coach na wala naman mawawala sa amin if gawin po namin ‘yung best po namin, mag all-out po kami,” said Cepada, a 19-year-old standout from University of Santo Tomas High School.
“Sinasabi ko lang po lagi sa mga ka team namin, try lang ng try kasi diba? Try and try until you succeed, so naniniwala ako doon,” added Lana, part of the UE team last season that also escaped a winless run by beating Far Eastern University in their final game.
“Pero hindi lang basta dapat try, dapat gawin namin ‘yung very best namin kapag naglalaro, and ‘yun nga sabi po ni coach kanina ilaro na lang namin ‘yung lahat, i-all out namin, ibigay namin ‘yung pinaka best namin kasi wala naman talaga mawawala, so finally nanalo po kami.”
Cepada scored a team-high 19 points and 14 digs to lead UE to a 16-25, 25-21, 26-24, 19-25, 15-12 stunner, while Lana provided 10 points including three in the fifth set.
This victory would serve as a stepping stone for the promising Lady Warriors in the next season. Cepada and Van Bangayan showed a lot of potential during the season, while Lana played through while nursing an undisclosed minor injury. There are also project middle blockers in Lia Pelaga, Riza Nogales, and Kamille Dionisio.
“Alam ko po paunti-unti po kaming umaangat, so talagang gusto po namin muna step by step kahit papaano manalo po kami,” said the 22-year-old Lana.
During their 12-game slump, UE has received criticism and unsolicited advice, but head coach Ronwald Dimaculangan kept reminding his team to turn those words into motivation.
“Para sa akin po importante po talaga (yung panalong ito) kasi marami silang [pumupuna] sa amin na ganito ganyan, lalo na sa social media, so ano po sabi nila coach na gawin na lang po namin inspiration ‘yung mga yun, wag po namin itake na prang madadown kami,” shared Cepada.
“So take po namin as swerte po para magpursige po.”
At 1-12, the Lady Warriors will finish their campaign against the 12-1 De La Salle University on Saturday.
Despite the odds, Dimaculangan assures that his players will go out on the court and show their true Red Warrior spirit.
“‘Yung next game against La Salle, alam naman namin na sila ‘yung nandoon sa taas kami ‘yung nasa bottom,” said the second-year UE tactician.
“But again sabi ko nga wala pa rin naman mawawala if you play our best, who knows, baka — sabi nga bilog naman ang bola, and kami ‘yung Warriors tipong palaban, kahit number one yan sa standing malay mo makapuwing kami diba?”
