UST Tigresses. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
University of Santo Tomas head coach Kung Fu Reyes already had his bases covered the moment star hitter EJ Laure told him she would be sitting out the 80th season of the UAAP.
With a chronic shoulder injury forcing her to miss this year’s women’s volleyball tournament, Laure will leave a big hole in the Tigresses office but Reyes is unfazed by the absence of his top scorer.
“We don’t even talk about EJ’s absence because the team can still operate without her,” said Reyes in Filipino Tuesday at UST’s Quadricentenntial Pavilion. “This is not EJ’s team, it’s everybody’s team, this is team UST.”
“Now where will we get 17, 16 points per game? That’s where we’re concentrating now, Sisi [Rondina] or Dimdim [Pacres] can at least take care of the 10, and the remaining will be up to the other players.”
As for Laure’s open hitter position, third-year substitute Carla Sandoval will be taking the mantle.
Reyes said the team’s trip to Thailand and their inclusion during the Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix will eventually help them in the UAAP.
“As for the position, Carla is there,” said Reyes. “Hopefully she’s matured enough after we played in the Uni Games, PSL, and in Thailand. This is the reality; she has to be there because EJ’s not here. That’s my motivational thought for her.”
Reyes also insisted that it’s only Laure’s injury that kept her from the team’s lineup, and not because of speculations that the fourth-year hitter is sitting this season out so she can play with younger her sister Eya in Season 81 .
“When we talked around Christmas time, EJ told me that it was a chronic shoulder injury, so that’s where we’re at right now,” said Reyes.