Lady Spikers.
It’s hard to get noticed in a team overflowing with good looks and great talent.
But for La Salle open hitter Jeushl Wensh Tiu, she’d rather focus on the Lady Archers’ quest for a third straight championship in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
‘‘I do the best in my position, na magkamali man ako, alam kong makakabawi ako the next time I get the chance,” said the advertising management major. “We cover each other’s mistakes in-game. Ganun na namin kakilala yung isa’t isa.’’
The 21-year-old acknowledges the potential of this Lady Spikers squad to enter the record books. The rare three-peat is looming for La Salle, when they lorded over the UAAP volleyball scene from 2004 in Season 66 to 2006 in Season 68 with Maureen Penetrante, Desiree Hernandez, and Chie Saet at the helm.
Tiu saw all of this unfold while she was still studying at New Ormoc City National High School.
‘‘This squad is special because of the bonding we have,” she said. “We have already handled different experiences as a group. We have already been there numerous times and we would love to repeat it again.’’
In fact, Coach Ramil de Jesus’ girls have been in the Finals for the last four years, with the only blip coming in 2010 when they fell to the Angeli Tabaquero-backed UST Tigresses.
More than just a pretty face, Tiu, a transferee from De La Salle – Dasmariñas, has ceded the spotlight to teammates like Michelle Gumabao, Abigail Maraño, and sophomores Ara Galang and Mika Reyes, while racking up the scoreboards for the Lady Spikers. She is currently the sixth-best spiker in the league, good for 20th overall when it comes to points.
‘‘We believe we have a complete line-up and we believe we can win it all again this year,’’ she said.
This year, the Lady Spikers are looking to send Tiu and libero Melissa Gohing to their curtain call with their tiara intact, just as they did last year with Charleen Cruz.
‘‘We already have the adaptability. We can compose ourselves whenever we face big deficits and we fight our way back in the game,’’ she said, before La Salle clawed their way back from a two-set hole in their game with the Ateneo Lady Eagles, giving them a share of the number one seed at the end of the first round.
Albert Einstein once said,‘‘Try not to be a man of success, but rather to be a man of value.’’ Tiu is just doing that, helping her team in her little own way while enjoying a low profile with the team.