I haven’t been around volleyball for a long time, but one of the few basics taught to me was to yell either “mine!” or “yours!” whenever our side of the court receives the ball. The level of play in PE classes or intramural doesn’t compare to collegiate play, but the same lesson applies: communication and trust are just as important to the game of volleyball as quickness, height and length.
Despite manhandling the winless UE Lady Warriors 25-6, 25-17, 25-17, DLSU head coach Ramil de Jesus still kept hammering his point of his girls to talk during the game.
He stressed out that merely sensing somebody’s presence doesn’t just cut it, “Walang mangyayari sa pakiramdaman.” Using the mistake where both Ara Galang and libero Dawn Macandili both went to receive the ball unsuccessfully as the perfect example.
It’s hard to imagine de Jesus still giving pointers and instructions to his wards after being up by two sets and still in control of the third; but like what the eight-time UAAP champion coach said a few weeks ago, they train and play not just to place second or third but for the championship.
Young and rebuilding programs like that UE would be happy to just win a set, let alone an upset win. After an almost immaculate first set where the Lady Warriors only scored three attack points, the Lady Spikers happily traded attacks and errors with their UE counterparts in the last two frames.
It’s in minute details like these that can make or break the Lady Spikers’ game against possibly their only equal to the league, the Ateneo Lady Eagles. The team’s dominating 25-21, 25-9, 25-18 win against the UST Tigresses last February 4 should not be the highlight of the season but rather the standard of winning from now on.
Any team would kill to achieve DLSU’s eleven wins out of the last 12 games, but for La Salle, there’s really only one team that serves as its litmus test. A win against Ateneo on February 18 would not only blemish the Lady Eagles’ record but also serve as a small measure of revenge from last year’s finals collapse and this year’s first round setback.
The De La Salle Lady Spikers: The Then and The Now
I know the current Lady Spikers team is deep into Season 77, but wouldn’t it be great for the supporters and fans if in a few months from now, somebody stages a game between the current and former La Salle teams.
The current men’s basketball team just won against former Green Archers last February 8, 93-79 in a charity match and one couldn’t help but wonder what a game featuring Ara Galang, Mika Reyes and Kim Fajardo on one side against Manilla Santo, Aby Maraño, Cha Cruz and Michelle Gumabao on the other would look like.
Coordination wouldn’t be difficult since de Jesus also coaches the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) team made up of mostly former La Salle players. And it’d be great if they “force” the match to be a five-setter: the longer, the better.
Of course, the big elephant hanging in the room would be which team will be handled by coach Ramil?