La Salle seeks breathing room in postseason chase

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Volleyball Standings

Women
NU 9 1
DLSU 6 3
FEU 6 4
UST 5 4
UP 5 5
Ateneo 4 5
AdU 3 6
UE 0 10

Men
FEU 9 1
NU 8 2
Ateneo 6 3
UST 5 4
DLSU 5 4
UP 3 7
AdU 2 7
UE 0 10

Games Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

9 a.m. – DLSU vs Ateneo (Men)
11 a.m. – UST vs AdU (Men)
1 p.m. – DLSU vs Ateneo (Women)
3 p.m. – UST vs AdU (Women)

DE LA SALLE seeks to extend its domination of Ateneo as the two rivals press their respective Final Four bids in the UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today (Wednesday).

Not only are the Lady Spikers eyeing to score a 16th straight victory against the Blue Eagles in the 1 p.m. match but also to solidify their hold of the second spot to bolster their bid for a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four.

Ateneo, which last defeated De La Salle, 12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19, in the second round on April 8, 2017, is eyeing to extend its winning run to three matches and try to stay within the Final Four range.

University of Santo Tomas, barely hanging in the No. 4 slot, faces Adamson University side which is trying to keep its Final Four hopes alive at 3 p.m.

The Lady Spikers hope to have a fully fit Angel Canino against the Blue Eagles after an injury scare last Saturday. Canino went down after an inadvertent knee to the head from Shevana Laput early in the fourth set of their 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14 conquest of the Tigresses.

With a 6-3 record, De La Salle is holding a half-a-game advantage of third-running Far Eastern University (6-4) in the race for the second twice-to-beat slot in the Final Four.

"Kami naman, kung sino naman yung dadating na game, sabi nga namin after matalo sa NU, 'girls kalimutan niyo na yan, one game at a time, isa-isahin natin, kung sino yung unang dadating, yun ang paghandaan, ganoon din naman ang gagawin namin sa Ateneo," said coach Ramil de Jesus' trusted assistant Noel Orcullo.

"Kung ano yung paghahandang ginagawa namin sa mga laban namin, ganoon pa rin yung gagawin namin. Wala kaming babalewalain, tutok pa rin kung ano yung dapat aralin sa Ateneo kung paano namin sila mapipigil," he added.

The Blue Eagles are making a one big push to reach the Final Four after missing the bus in the last two seasons. Sporting a 4-5 record in sixth place, Ateneo is trailing a game behind UST in the race for the No. 4 spot.

Coming off a 25-23, 25-14, 25-23 sweep of the Lady Falcons, the Blue Eagles hope to make the most of their preparation against the Lady Spikers.

"When we know our team, it's easy because we are able to focus on the opponent and we can prepare for the opponent. The big problem, when you need to fix a lot of things in our team, but now, I think our team understands pretty good... they're confident, more emotional in our team," said Ateneo coach Sergio Veloso.

"But we need to look now, because, it's a different team. Different hitters, blockers, serve-receive, and you need to think in these two days how you can work better in the next match," he added.

After winning five of their first six matches, Tigresses have struggled as the last season's runners-up have lost three in a row to drop to No. 4. UST is just ahead by half-a-game of fifth-running University of the Philippines (5-5) in the race for the last Final Four slot.

Adamson sits in seventh place with a 3-6, two games out of the No. 4 spot, as it cannot afford to drop matches from now on if it wants to keep its Final Four aspirations alive.

In the men's division, three teams, which are separated by only one game, go for all important victories to bolster their respective Final Four bids.

Ateneo and De La Salle collide at 9 a.m., while UST, trying to stay in the Final Four mix after a stunning three-match slump, plays seventh-running Adamson at 11 a.m.

The Blue Eagles hold third place with a 6-3, a game ahead of the Green Spikers and the Golden Spikers, who have similar 4-5 records.

"Kami mindset namin as a team na after nitong araw na ito, magsisimula na kami mag-aral for La Salle kasi sabi nga nila at sabi nga naming coaches, lahat ng games ay importante," said Ateneo coach Vince Mangulabnan.

"Lahat ng importante, kailangan namin pagtuunan ng pansin at kailangan namin bigyan ng maraming oras. Itong game na susunod, sabi mo nga, magiging fate ng mga pwedeng mangyari. Gagawin namin motivation 'yon na ibigay yung 101 percent ng aming sarili," he added.

UST mentor Odjie Mamon hopes that his team has already moved on from the alarming skid, as reigning MVP Josh Ybañez is slowly getting back into the groove after an early season ankle injury.

"I hit the panic button na 'eh nitong losing streak namin. Even me, I was losing confidence also. Pero syempre I am very thankful with my coaching staff and sa admin namin, one thing na finocus namin is yung mental aspect ng mga players. I was worried Josh might be down," said Mamon.

"Pero as a coach, ang pwede ko itulong sa kanilang lahat is yung tiwala ko and yung confidence ko sa buong team that we can get through the slump. Yung aral at yung ensayo rin kasama na, kaya it was a collective effort talaga," he added.