National University coach Roger Gorayeb on Wednesday warned that even a Final Four finish won’t be achievable if the Lady Bulldogs continue to play without fire.
NU scored a 25-21, 25-20, 25-19 win over league doormat Adamson in the UAAP women’s volleyball at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
It was their second straight victory—after a scrambling win over University of the Philippines—but Gorayeb sounded as if they lost, lashing out at his wards for not giving it their best.
“I have to tell them again and again that they need to have intensity,” said Gorayeb. “I got tired telling them that.”
With NU trailing 11-16 in the third set, Gorayeb refused to talk to his players in the huddle and instead allowed assistant Edjet Mabbayad to give instructions.
“You will be surprised because in practice they move differently,” said Gorayeb in Filipino. “We won’t be able to reach the end if we continue to play this way.”
The Lady Bulldogs, despite a powerful lineup led by versatile 6-foot-5 Jaja Santiago, finished fifth last season.
Now, Gorayeb said he is particularly worried over their next game, where they are pitted against heavyweight La Salle.
La Salle was one of the three teams which dealt NU’s losses in the first round, aside from University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University.
“There is still a long way to go but every team they (Lady Bulldogs) face, they show a different character,” he said. “We can’t afford to play that way against La Salle.”
He’s got all the reasons to be concerned as La Salle flashed its razor-sharp game to cut down Far Eastern University later in the second game, 25-5, 25-23, 25-23.
In handing FEU’s second straight defeat, La Salle also recovered its wits after losing to Ateneo in the last game of the first round.
On a bright note, Gorayeb said he is thankful they were pitted against Adamson at the start of the second round because “we didn’t prepare for the game because I thought the second round would start on Saturday yet.”
He said that during practice, he just instructed the team to run and lift weights not knowing they would have a game Wednesday.
Santiago topscored with 15 points, while Jorelle Singh finished with 10 for NU, which rallied from a five-point deficit in the third set.