Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
La Salle has been humming since the start of the second round of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament, racking up four straight wins to constantly put pressure on league leader and rival Ateneo in the race for the top spot.
But if you think there’s no sense of unease over at the Lady Spikers’ camp, think again.
Every new opponent brings a new challenge for the squad—and its coming match against a rising University of Santo Tomas is no different.
“UST continues to improve every game,” said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus in Filipino. “We really have to prepare for them because they are among the teams in the upper half of the standings.”
Far Eastern U, meanwhile, tries to keep its fading hopes of making the semifinals alive when it tackles University of the East at 2 p.m.
A La Salle victory will virtually seal the twice-to-beat semifinal bonus for the Lady Spikers. Interestingly, La Salle’s victory will also hand Ateneo the Final Four incentive of needing to win just once to advance to the Finals.
Both squads are expected to take their footrace to the No. 1 spot to the final elimination round playdate which will feature the rival schools.
“We’re not really thinking too much that we’re at the No. 1 spot because we can’t be too confident either,” said Lady Spikers star Kim Dy.
The Tigresses pose a legitimate threat to the Lady Spikers. At 7-4, UST is thirsting to end a run of losing seasons and hope to put together a winning year for the first time since 2013. The Tigresses also hope to end a semifinal drought by protecting their slim edge over National U and University of the Philippines.
“We’re slowly rising but we haven’t even hit 80 percent of our potential yet,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes.