If we follow what Heraclitus says—that one cannot step into the same river twice—then the Lady Spikers’ season may be justified.

“We just have to move on to the next [season],” laments MVP Candidate Fille Cainglet. “Ganyan talaga. May nananalo, may natatalo. (It’s really like that. You win some, you lose some.)”

On one hand, the league got more wary of them and how they had snuck into the top three a year before. To compensate, other teams scored better recruits while some players just plainly trained harder and got better, most notably Michelle Gumabao of DLSU and Angela Benting of Adamson.

On the other hand, however, the Lady Spikers didn’t exactly enter the tournament as the team from last year, considering that team veterans entered this season with a year of experience and at least two rookies regularly cracked the rotation. The team also still has Coach Roger Gorayeb at the helm.

The inevitable question comes to surface: What went wrong this season for the Lady Spikers?

Issues on defense

Angeline Gervacio, Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Gretchen Ho and Kara Acevedo all form a starting squad that has been playing together for three years. The lineup is usually rounded out by fifth-year veteran Bea Pascual or rookie libero Denn Lazaro.

This poses a problem for Coach Gorayeb, because Pascual and Lazaro have different strengths. Pascual offers a steady blocking presence while Lazaro gives the team a skilled libero that they sorely missed for years. The freshman led the league in digs by midseason but her play faltered in the postseason, where she nervously scrambled for digs, forcing the Ateneo mentor to insert Pascual when Lazaro squandered points.

Blocking has also been an issue for the Lady Spikers. Against non-contenders, Ho and Pascual normally get it done, but they falter against the postseason teams, who have taller, longer blockers. By season’s end, no Lady Spiker had cracked the Top 10 in overall blocks.

Although much of the team has been playing together for more than half of their college careers, the bench is relatively young. Pascual, the team’s only reliable veteran, will be leaving due to graduation. Also heading to the exit is former Rookie of the Year and team captain Kara Acevedo.

Only rookie Ella de Jesus has proven to be serviceable thus far, filling in for offensive pieces to stockpile leads. Lazaro proved to be more than adequate, but her playoff jitters weren’t anything to smile about. Much-heralded rookie Alyssa Valdez has lost one year to residency, and it remains to be seen whether she can start for the Lady Spikers next year or play energizer bunny from the bench.

Coaching fiasco

A lot more head-scratching can be had for the Blue Spikers, who went from title contender to just another pretender. The team failed to meet expectations set by Coach Boyet Delmoro, who wanted to at least maintain their top three standing. Delmoro left in the middle of the season, a scenario similar to last year’s, when Coach Oliver Almadro had to give up his coaching position for personal reasons.

“Coach Boyet [Delmoro] is also the athletic director of the University of Manila. His work got hectic there. At the same time, he had family problems that he had to attend to,” said Sherwin Malonzo of the University Athletics Office.

The team closed out their campaign at fifth as three different substitutes took over coaching duties: Mario Mia, Leonardo Toyco and Timmy Sto. Tomas, who was responsible for the team’s playoff surge last year after Almadro left his post.

In two years, the team has had two coaching changes in the middle of the season, and the coaching spot is vacated again. “As of now, we’re still openly recruiting. I’m too young to take over the coaching position,” said Sto. Tomas.

Leadership is another problem for the men’s team. Captain and setter, Ed Ortega, is heavily feeling the loss of AJ Pareja, who has been the team’s go-to guy in seasons past. The open hitters and utility players, save for Duane Teves, are relatively new. The lack of offensive options hurt the team’s on-court swagger, as the team struggles to find a consistent option to steer them through wins.

Another handicap would be height, as the team is severely vertically challenged to go against the bigger boys of the league. Mike de Joya, the team’s tallest player, would be of average height next to contenders from UST and DLSU. Word around is that team management has already started recruiting, though it is too early to say if the height issue will be addressed.

Both teams have regressed by standings, with the women’s team falling out one spot and with the men’s team falling out of the playoffs altogether.

Aerieal Patnongon, junior Lady Spiker, sums it up best, “Problems? Motivation mostly.”