Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
After going 2-0 against La Salle in the elimination round, Ateneo may have the psychological advantage going into the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball Finals.
But Lady Eagles assistant coach Sherwin Meneses thinks that the head-to-head duel in the eliminations is irrelevant in the championship round and it will boil down to who’s more prepared heading into the best-of-3 series.
“We may have won against La Salle in the eliminations, but we take it one game at a time. Even if you’re 9-1 or 12-2, coach Tai (Bundit) wants us to prepare for every game regardless of what our record is,” he said.
Meneses said Ateneo is doing everything it can to utilize the extended break to better ready itself for the all-important Game 1 on Tuesday.
“We’re doing it all everyday: mental, physical, skills, and conditioning,” Meneses said as the Lady Eagles did twice-a-day practices in its nine-day reprieve.
Shifting his focus to Game 1, Meneses feels the series-opener will be decided on which team will have the better service and reception.
“I think it will matter on who will have a better service and receive because whoever has the better service will be the one to get the win. But we’ll see the adjustments when it’s finally game time.”