Thea Gagate believes that the ‘excitement’ over the La Salle-Ateneo rivalry is still there despite the Lady Spikers scoring another dominant win over the Blue Eagles in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament last Sunday.
La Salle has now won its last 11 matchups against Ateneo which left fans wondering if the Philippines’ biggest collegiate rivalry is still, well, a rivalry.
“For me po, nandun pa rin yung excitement when it comes to La Salle-Ateneo. Ever since naman po, rivalry talaga kami. So, yeah, I think same pa rin,” said 21-year-old sophomore after the 25-16, 25-20, 25-12 win at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
As for the 11-game winning streak over their long-time rivals, interim head coach Noel Orcullo shared that the team is just sticking to what they have been doing over the past years – and that is to respect their opponent by preparing against them, no matter the school.
“Kami naman, lagi naman namin sinasabi sa mga bata na kahit sinong kalaban, Ateneo yan, kahit sino man yan, laging paghahandaan,” said Orcullo, who coached his very first La Salle-Ateneo game.
“Kami, every game, prepared kami kung sino yung makakalaban namin. Hindi namin inaano yung winning streak sakanila basta kami papasok ng court, maglalaro kami para manalo,” he added.
Gagate, meanwhile, gave the team props for shaking off the jitters and putting on an impressive performance against Ateneo.
Personally, though, the 6-foot-2 middle blocker out of Nazareth School of National University is still not satisfied with her performance. She vowed to put in the work ahead of their matchup against University of the East at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
“Of course, credits parin po sa lahat kami kasi nilabas namin kung ano yung pinag-training-an namin lahat. And, as for my performance po, syempre, kulang pa rin for me talaga. So, unti-unti lang at saka tyaga lang talaga.”
