Winning 10 UAAP championships in 19 seasons takes a certain level of relentless discipline, pride, and consistency. Nothing embodies that more than Ramil De Jesus’ tradition of post-loss sessions for his DLSU Lady Spikers.
By now, keen UAAP followers know the drill: if the Lady Spikers drop a match in disappointing fashion, their day probably isn’t over even afterwards. The Lady Spikers won’t even change out of their uniforms as they head straight back to campus and immediately train.
De Jesus famously did this in Season 75 after the Lady Spikers dropped their debut match to the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses. They did not lose another match for the season en route to a third straight title.
After their grueling five-set loss to the National University Lady Bulldogs last Sunday, the Lady Spikers filed out of the FilOil Flying V Centre and went through a gauntlet with De Jesus.
La Salle do not lose back-to-back matches often, as the University of the East Lady Warriors found out Wednesday afternoon.
“‘Pag sinabi na ni coach ‘yun na walang magbibihis, diretso tayo La Salle, alam na namin. We know that we deserved what happened. Yung right after, training. Wala eh, natalo kami so kailangan ayusin yung mga kulang pa namin,” said graduating winger Kianna Dy, who tallied eight points against UE.
“Sinabi nga ni coach bakit hindi kayo matapang nung game, bakit ngayon matapang kayo. So ngayon, na-address namin yung kailangan matapos agad, hindi dapat maging complacent na we’re two sets ahead, and then biglang bibitawan lang.”
According to the De Jesus, who won his 250th match in the UAAP, he just wanted his players to remember their mettle and show the pride of being a Lady Spiker.
“Well ‘yung purpose ng pagbalik namin sa La Salle, siguro during the game nung Sunday, ni-remind ko lang sila na dapat kilala niyo ‘yung sarili niyo, kung sino kayo. Minsan kasi, nakakalimutan niyo kung sino na kayo, sabi kong ganoon,” De Jesus recalled.
“Ang dami niyong pinagdaanan, ang dami niyong experience na pinag-daanan. So pagdating sa mga ganyang klase ng game, dapat kilala niyo ‘yung sarili niyo, kung ano ‘yung aasahan ng team sa inyo. So ‘yun lang naman din.”
The Lady Spikers look to go 5-1 when they take on the Adamson University Lady Falcons on Saturday. De Jesus wants to see the Lady Spikers continue to show aggressiveness.
“Well, ‘yung Adamson kasi, may mga times na pagka dumating at nakuha nila ang kumpyansa sa loob ng court, hindi mo pwedeng babasta-bastahin lang.
“‘Pag ito confident na at nakuha nila ‘yung sinasabi kong momentum, mahirap biruin kasi alam natin na kumpleto ‘yung tao. And then maganda rin ang connection nila sa isa’t isa, saka beterano rin kasi ‘yung setter,” the La Salle Hall of Famer asserted.
