Adamson coach Jerry Yee in his first UAAP game back. –UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Back in the UAAP after six years, Adamson coach Jerry Yee couldn’t help but marvel at the league’s level of competition in his return.
Leading the Lady Falcons to a rousing Season 85 debut with a 25-19, 25-9, 25-5 demolishing of University of the East on Saturday, Yee relished his comeback.
“Ang ganda ng venue. Masaya, syempre. The fans are there, yung teams they practiced, pinagkakagastusan, pinaghihirapan. Kumbaga, okay yung competition and ang ganda ng venue. So that’s it,” said Yee, who last coach in the UAAP last 2017 when he was still with University of the Philippines.
(We’re in a big venue. I’m happy, of course. The fans are there and the teams they practice, they invest, they work hard for it. The competition is okay and the venue looks good.)
Yee, who is also calling the shots for the unbeaten champion College of Saint Benilde in the NCAA, said their first game is “probably luck of the draw” as they shift their focus against National University, which also swept Ateneo on opening day.
“They are the defending champions so all of us are looking up to them. We’ll look at our standards compared to theirs. That’s the truth,” he said in Filipino.
Team captain Louie Romero told the Lady Falcons to raise the level of their game as they ushered in a new era under Yee.
“I told my teammates to raise our standard of play and don’t play at the pace of our opponents,” said Romero in Filipino after dishing out 14 excellent sets and scoring four points.
“We just have to prepare and have the mindset to win every point, every set, and hopefully, the win [against NU],” she added.
Lucille Almonte, who led Adamson with 12 points built on 10 attacks and two blocks on top of eight digs, is putting a premium on teamwork as they battle a powerhouse NU side that has yet to lose in 19 straight games in the UAAP since 2020.
“We have to display [great] teamwork. Our next game will test how deep is the gelling of our team,” Almonte said.