UP Fighting Maroons. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
University of the Philippines may have escaped with a straight sets win, 25-20, 25-12, 25-17, over St. Benilde, but coach Jerry Yee wasn’t too pleased with the way his girls performed on Monday at Philsports Arena in Pasig.
“Slow start and slow finish. Sumasabay tayo sa tempo. The game was pangit, boring for both sides,” Yee said. “Ang dami nating error eh. Yung receptions natin ang pangit. Pag joust, mahirap i-practice yung ganung situation pero pag nandyan na at di natin alam yung kailangang gawin, mahirap.”
Still, it was enough to squeeze the victory, as UP remained undefeated at 2-0 in Group B in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Collegiate Conference.
The Lady Maroons still was able to take charge in the sloppy match, punishing the Lady Blazers, 40-21, in attacks and 7-1 in blocks.
Diana Carlos paced UP with 12 points, 10 from kills and two blocks, while Isa Molde and Nicole Tiamzon both had nine.
Though he’d gladly take the win, Yee still rued that the Lady Maroons must wake up from their slumber to have a better showing this conference and also in preparation for the upcoming UAAP season.
“Training naman tayo ng training. I don’t want na gumawa ng excuses pero siguro nga busy din sila sa klase,” he said. “We’re looking at this league as a barometer, pero yung execution, hindi talaga maganda. I hope to see better execution from our team.”
Jeanette Panaga and Ariane Daguil led the still winless St. Benilde (0-3) with five points each.