Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Once the most fearsome team in the UAAP, De La Salle had lost the respect it earned as a three-time champion after its reign in women’s volleyball ended two seasons ago.
But on Saturday night, in the biggest game of the season against its fierce rival and defending champion Ateneo, La Salle looked every bit like the team it once was — unpredictable on offense and merciless on the other end.
And it started with one of its star seniors in Mika Reyes — who channeled her inner Aby Maraño — undaunted, fiery and a beast in her own way.
“Siguro sa akin lang, as a senior, kailangan ko lang ipakita sa teammates ko lalo na sa mga bata na hindi dapat matakot,” Reyes told reporters after helping La Salle snap Ateneo’s 24-game winning streak with a straight-set win. “Kung kaya ng senior nila, susundan nila yon. So sabi ko sa sarili ko, wala namang masama. Ganito ako. Ito yung personality ko so lalaban talaga kami.”
Maraño was behind La Salle’s bench and the ex-team captain was her usual animated self – reacting to every play and ecstatically celebrating every DLSU point. She also observed how Reyes transformed into the leader she is now.
“I’m so proud of her. Ngayon nakikita mo na yung mga fruits ng lahat ng pinagpaguran niya. For a senior, nakaka-proud talaga,” Maraño said of her former teammate Reyes, who served up the most spectacular play of the game when she stopped Ateneo superstar Alyssa Valdez with a single block in the second set.
“After her (Reyes) block, I faced the crowd and I kind of told them ‘that’s how you block,’ Maraño recalled, raising both of her arms.
Maraño noted she saw the kind of swagger La Salle had been missing since she left two seasons ago.
“Nakita ko na yung swag nila. Nung nawala ako tinitimpla pa nila ng konti. Siguro nahihiya pa mag-express ng emotions but now that they’re all seniors wala na silang hiya. Nandoon na yung motivation, malakas na yung loob nila kasi hinog na hinog na sila.”
The Lady Spikers came into the game as underdogs but left as the biggest threats to the Lady Eagles’ bid for a third straight championship.
“I told them before the game that they have to get their confidence back and the respect of their opponents,” said DLSU head coach Ramil de Jesus.
“Our plan was really to get our confidence back. What I want is their respect for one another and for their opponents to respect them.