Ateneo setter Jia Morado knows they should not pressure themselves if they want to take Game 2 from De La Salle.
For the past two UAAP seasons, Ateneo has played with a brand of volleyball that revolves around happiness.
With Thai head coach Tai Bundit expressing his emotions through dancing, his players too has caught the glad bug to deliver two straight titles.
In Game 1 of the Finals against arch rivals De La Salle, however, that bubbly vibe popped and the defending champions got their hopes handed to them in a green platter with the score 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 written on it.
Setter Jia Morado, who was the finest of closers in Season 77’s Finals series, knew they have to go back to being happy if they want to take Game 2.
“Aggressiveness, intensity, and happiness inside the court, yun talaga, we function when we’re happy,” Morado said Monday at Blue Eagle Gym.
The Lady Eagles’ second straight title in 2015 had been the culmination of a perfect season which included four straight matches without giving up a set, but this time the defending champions are one loss away from a silver finish.
While the pressure may be getting bigger by the minute, Morado refuses to dwell on it with work still yet to be done in game 2.
“Like before, we used to go to do-or-die games,” Morado said who was a rookie during Ateneo’s first title run. “We’re not really putting pressure on ourselves kahit sabihin na pag natalo kami tapos na, pag nanalo kami meron pa.”
“It’s a game for us.”