Thus said top-hitter Angeline Gervacio, after competing in three tournaments since barely missing last UAAP’s final four.
Learning from the experience, the Lady Spikers are now aiming for a strong UAAP run, as they entered the holiday break with a 3-2 win-loss record.
“We learned new techniques from this last conference’s matches, basic techniques like when to tip the ball instead of spiking it hard. Most of all, we learned to be wiser,” Gervacio said.
Questions surrounded the team after dropping five 5-set matches last UAAP season.
How could they expect to contend if they couldn’t win matches that went the distance? It was a monkey the team had to get off their back, and they came face to face with their past sooner than expected.
Slaying ghosts
Bea Pascual rescued the Lady Spikers in their last outing against Adamson on November 6, finally winning the 5th set. But Adamson was mediocre compared to their next test against defending V-League champs UST. It was this test that was a true gauge of the Lady Spikers’ mettle.
The Lady Spikers had to prove they knew not only how to compete, but also win those long games. Another 5-setter awaited the young Lady Spikers on November 20 when they lost a 2-0 set lead to the surging Tigresses who dominated the third and fourth sets.
But after the score was knotted at 11-apiece in the deciding set, another heroine emerged. A Gervacio block sparked a four-point rally to help the Lady Spikers escape, 15-11, and forced a tie-breaker duel against the Lady Tamaraws for the last final four spot.
But in a November 22 duel with the Lady Tams, the Lady Spikers discovered they still had a long way to go, especially in the UAAP. Their previous weaknesses came back to haunt them as they dropped a close 15-9 fifth and deciding set.
Preparing for the UAAP
Despite the V-league miss, last year’s rookies are learning how to outwit their opponents, making the UAAP promising for the Lady Spikers.
They’re not just coming back stronger, but smarter. “We have faster drills now, and for my batch, there’re no excuses since we’re already second year,” said Gervacio. “We can’t commit any unforgivable errors anymore.”
“Quoting Coach Roger, we learned that, games are 90% psychological, 10% physical,” she added. “We can’t say we’ve mastered it, but were learning it.”
Off to battle
Armed with the lessons from the pre-season games, the Lady Spikers were off to a good start in the UAAP.
Proving that they are getting stronger at battling teams in a match that goes to a deciding fifth set, the Lady Spikers defeated title-contenders UST (32-30, 25-23, 8-25, 19-25, 17-15) for their third win.
Team top scorer Gervacio led the team to victory with 26 won points against the Tigresses.
The Lady Spikers also defeated UP and NU but fell against league-leading Adamson and La Salle.
Rookie Tasha Faustino is optimistic that the team will at least reach the final four. “Things are looking great for us. At first, we were doubtful on delivering this year.”
“But our recent win against UST gave us that much needed hope and motivation. Hopefully, this will bring us closer to the final four spot,” she added.
With a report from Nina C. Mariñas
