UAAP volleyball: Sergio Veloso preaches ‘strong mindset’ to Ateneo

Ateneo coach Sergio Veloso in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Eager to bring back the Ateneo Blue Eagles to the Final Four, coach Sergio Veloso hopes his wards continue to show composure during “hard moments” in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.

The Blue Eagles kept their Final Four bid on track after rising to fifth place with a 2-4 record behind fourth placer Far Eastern University (3-3), which will be their last first-round assignment on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

For the Brazilian coach, Ateneo needs to continue to play with “strong minds” for them to stay in contention.

READ: UAAP volleyball: Sobe Buena shows her steely resolve in Ateneo win

“It’s hard to talk [about expectations] because it’s my first season in Ateneo and I introduced a different system and tactics,” said Veloso after his second UAAP career win.

“This is a big deal. You practice to play. When you play, you use what you learned in practice. This kind of mindset, it’s so important because you can improve a lot when you play at a high level and in a strong mental situation,” he added.

Veloso lauded the resiliency of the Blue Eagles, led by Sobe Buena and Lyann De Guzman’s combined 44 points, to overcome the Adamson Lady Falcons, 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, last Wednesday.

SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball first round

“[I want them] to stay confident and [believe that], ‘oh I can do this’ in the hard moments. This, I think, is my target for Ateneo — to know how to play in the hard moments,” Veloso said.

Setter Taks Fujimoto said their big win over Adamson will serve as a springboard to be better heading into the latter part of the elimination round.

“We’re not yet done. We still have things to do. We just need to polish our individual and team skills. We really need to focus on following the system. In the end, we just need to trust each and every one,” Fujimoto said.

De Guzman, the Ateneo team captain, believes the best is yet to come for her young team.

“Our mindset is one game at a time. Because I can see in my team that we’re getting there,” said De Guzman in Filipino. “I know that we haven’t unlocked our full potential yet. I’m confident that we can do better in the second round.”