UE head coach Francis Vicente. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
University of the East’s 0-2 record is just half the story.
Despite the Lady Warriors’ straight set defeat to University of the Philippines, head coach Francis Vicente knows there is more to his team’s win-loss card.
“That’s what I’ve been saying, don’t sleep on UE,” said Vicente Saturday at San Juan Arena after their loss to the Lady Maroons, 25-16, 26-24, 25-19. “Our team’s only problem is our experience. The individual skills are already there, we already have the strengths and all we need to do is maintain that strength and also maintain our confidence.”
Unlike the other teams in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament, the Lady Warriors never played in preseason games except for the Unigames.
Teams like University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, Ateneo, and National University played in the Shakey’s V-League while the other teams’ players played in the Philippine Superliga.
Vicente added there’s been a change not only in the team’s demeanor, but also his as well.
“Usually you guys will see me getting disappointed and sometimes angry when we lose but now, even though we lost, I can’t get mad at them,” said Vicente. “I can see that they’re fighting for every point and it just so happened that we lack the experience.”
“My satisfaction is not just about winning the game, it’s finding that winning attitude and I can see that my players are slowly getting that.”