UAAP: DLSU Lady Spikers lose first set of the season, but get Coach de Jesus' 200th win

DLSU Lady Spikers coach Ramil de Jesus notched his 200th wins on Wednesday, as his wards picked up a four-set win against the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 25-11 23-25 25-20 25-10 at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

De Jesus’ milestone victory was not a walk in the park as the Lady Spikers dropped their first set of the entire season. However, de Jesus shared that it was a test of his team’s character on how they handled adversity.

“Hinihintay ko nga yun mangyari, kaya mas magandang nangyari na,” he said. “Sabi ko sa mga bata, hindi na pwede na mananalo sa lakas lang ng palo gagawin natin. Kailangan sumunod sa tayo sa gameplan at isipin mabuti kung ano gagawin.”

Nevertheless it was business as usual for de Jesus despite the amazing feat, “Hindi ko naman iniisip kung ilan yung panalo. Basta yung importante panalo. Every game yun naman yung habol namin.”

The Lady Tamaraws kicked off the first set with a 5-2 advantage care of Marie Simborio’s aggressive attacking and Geneveve Casugod’s towering blocks. With what seemed to be FEU’s opportunity to pull off an upset, the Lady Spikers promptly displayed their capability to blow out their opponents in an instant.

Ara Galang and Mika Reyes overpowered the entire FEU squad with running spikes, down-the-line kills and deceptively placed tips. The La Salle lead ballooned to 14-6 and was extended to 16-6 with Cyd Demecillo’s back-to-back service aces.

The defending champions continued to score off the Galang-Reyes tandem in the later stages of the set. Galang dazzled the crowd with her deeply angled shots, while Reyes dominated with her front-row presence. The Lady Tamaraws piled up multiple errors on their part, as the Lady Spikers cruised through the first set, 25-11.

FEU improved in the second set with Casugod and Mary Palma scoring in the front row. Additionally, the sensational Bernadette Pons kept the Lady Tamaraws in the game as she let loose a number of block-piercing spikes.  Mika Reyes was able to help the Lady Spikers reach the second technical timeout on top though, 16-14.

FEU kept within striking distance and refused to let La Salle pull away. With a Samantha Dawson attack that ricocheted off Aby Marano’s face, the Lady Tamaraws hovered around the Lady Spikers at 16-15. DLSU retaliated with a brief offensive run led by Demecillo that gave them a three-point cushion at 20-17. But Casugod’s wall-like blocks and her quick attacks tied the set at 20-all, further increasing the Lady Tamaraw’s momentum and confidence.

Casugod’s relentlessness for the ball propelled FEU to a 22-20 advantage before Demecillo and a net error on the Lady Tamaraw’s part returned things to a deadlocked state, 22-all. Marano regained the lead for La Salle with her patented running spike, but the same move from the captain provided the error on the succeeding play tied the set once again at 23-all.

A botched tip by Desiree Cheng and an emphatic service ace by Kyla Atienza then caused absolute pandemonium across the arena as the Lady Tamaraws baptized La Salle with their first set loss for the entire season.

FEU continued to ride their momentum with an 8-3 lead by Mary Palma and Marie Basas. Unfortunately, four consecutive unforced errors and Demecillo’s craftiness around the court tied the set immediately at 8-all. The Lady Tamaraws were able to pad a four-point lead at 16-12 care of Pons’ aggressiveness to challenge La Salle’s blockers. However, the Lady Spiker’s balanced scoring at once pulled the girls in green back in the game.

Kim Fajardo’s service ace tied the set at 16-all and flipped the pace of the match to La Salle’s advantage. Palma continued to play efficiently for FEU, but the championship experience of the Lady Spikers prevailed as they ended the set with a 9-4 scoring run. Marano’s back-to-back tips to the open zone finished the set at 25-20.

The Lady Tamaraws managed to stay aggressive at the start of the fourth set as they were only down by one in the first technical timeout at 8-7. However, the Lady Spikers managed to pull away as the ever-reliable Mika Reyes notched three straight points that placed La Salle in control at 11-8. The Taft-based squad never looked back and delivered the win in typical La Salle fashion. The Lady Spikers finished the set up by double-digits, 25-10.
 
Mika Reyes and Ara Galang finished with 11 points each, while Kim Fajardo notched 10 markers. The trio of Denice Tan, Cyd Demecillo and team captain, Aby Marano scored nine points apiece. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

DLSU – Reyes 11, Galang 11, Fajardo 10,  Tan 9, Demecillo 9, Marano 9

FEU – Palma 12, Casugod 10, Pons 9, Torres 4, Basas 3, Simborio 2, Dawson 1, Papa 1, Atienza 1