George Pascua only had one advice to his spikers when Far Eastern University failed in its comeback bid against defending champion De La Salle in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament.
“Get used to your setters,” said Pascua in Filipino Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Lady Tamaraws fought back from two-set deficit against the Lady Spikers but eventually folded in the fifth set, 25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-7, against the defending champions.
FEU was still trading blows with La Salle up until the 5-5 tie in the fifth set, but the Lady Spikers went into overdrive and closed the match with a 10-2 run.
Skipper Bernadeth Pons was the only one who put up a semblance of a fight for the Lady Tamaraws when she scored their final two points.
“I told my hitters that they are already veterans, so whatever their setters give them they should just deal with it,” said Pascua as his team fell to 1-2.
Pons finished with 21 points while her deputies Celine Domingo, Toni Rose Basas, and Jeanette Villareal had 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
And Pascua’s main offensive contributors are all at least third year players with Pons being the oldest at fifth year and Basas the second-oldest at fourth year.
Pascua said his setters Angela Cayuna and Kyle Negrito both perform well in practice, but couldn’t keep up when it comes down to pressure-filled situations.
“It sort of became a bit of the two, that when the game comes they don’t do as well as they did in practice,” said Pascua who interchanged Negrito and Cayuna in the fifth.
“My setters’ decision-making has been a problem of ours so we have to change that. They just have to be consistent in every set they give.”