It comes as no surprise that the setter position has been a major area of concern for De La Salle University since playmakers Mars Alba (Choco Mucho) and Julia Coronel (Galeries Tower) ended their collegiate careers to turn professional in the Premier Volleyball League.
In Season 85, head coach Ramil de Jesus alternated between Alba and Coronel, with the former earning the title of the league’s Best Setter and Finals MVP.
The following season, Coronel faced early challenges as the Lady Spikers’ starting setter and team captain but eventually guided the team to a bronze medal finish.
For La Salle’s redemption campaign in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, De Jesus is relying on junior Julyana Tolentino and rookie Mikole Reyes to steer the Lady Spikers’ offense.
Unfortunately for La Salle, both setters struggled with early jitters.
That shakiness contributed to the 12-time champions falling short in their opening-day match for the first time in 13 years. La Salle lost, 23-25, 21-25, 18-25 to defending champions National University on Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The youth of the Lady Spikers’ setters has been a concern for fans, stretching back to the program’s pre-season tournaments.
Shevana Laput displayed MVP-like form, scoring 18 points in the losing effort, while Season 85 Rookie-MVP Angel Canino was limited to just seven points and not fully unleashed.
(C) Roman Prospero/SSL
“Dahil nandoon ‘yung may Shevana Laput ka, may Angel Canino, so mataas ‘yung expectations. Pero siyempre ‘yung tibay naman ng team, lalo ‘yung spikers, nasa setter ‘yun eh,” De Jesus explained to reporters.
“Siya ‘yung driver kasi ng team, so kung medyo rookie ‘yung team mo, medyo shaky ‘yung team, dapat talaga bigyan mo ng mahabang oras ‘yung setter mo.”
Tolentino was only able to register five excellent sets in the 1-hour-and-30-minute defeat, while Reyes was rarely used after starting the match.
For comparison, Season 84 Best Setter Lams Lamina delivered 20 excellent sets in National University’s sweep of La Salle.
Although the situation was a tough start to La Salle’s Season 87 campaign, De Jesus believes the challenging opening match will spark a fire in Tolentino and Reyes to reach their full potential.
“This is a much-needed wake-up call for both the setters and the Lady Spikers,” De Jesus noted, especially with a match coming up against prized rookie Shaina Nitura, Season 86 Girls’ Best Setter Fei Sagaysay, and the Adamson Lady Falcons on Saturday, February 22, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
“Expected ko na ‘to na ano, na medyo kakalog ‘yung setter ko kasi bata pa eh. Wala (pang) experience, first time sa UAAP, so inaantay ko lang na… Sabi ko nga sa kanya, ‘yung first game maiintindihan ko pero sa susunod na game hindi na first game ‘yun so medyo stable na (dapat). Hopefully, next game namin stable na ‘yung setter namin,” the 12-time UAAP champion coach shared.
“Sabi ko sa kanila, wala namang natatalo sa game eh. Basta alam mong (kahit) natalo ka, natuto ka. ‘Yun ang importante eh, natalo ka (pero) natuto ka. Pero kung natalo ka tapos wala kang natutunan, talagang talo ka nun. Importante natalo ka pero may natutunan ka sa pagkatalo mo and ready kang i-correct ‘yan sa susunod na mga games.”
