La Salle seeks to reclaim lost glory

In UAAP Season 76, the De La Salle Lady Archers constantly steamrolled all their opponents during their impressive elimination round sweep and a lot of people predicted that winning the championship –and a coveted four-peat – was just a mere formality.

The team’s roster was loaded with a good combination of quality players with the likes of former UAAP Rookie of the Year Ara Galang, two-time MVP Abigail Maraño, defensive stalwart Mika Reyes, Season 76 best setter Kim Fajardo, and a versatile Cyd Demecillo on board.

But a sudden twist of fate saw them ending the season with a bucket of tears.

Holding a precious thrice-to-beat last season and gunning for a fourth straight title, La Salle eventually got the wrong end of the stick as Alyssa Valdez and the Ateneo Lady Eagles pulled off one of the greatest upsets in UAAP Finals history

“It is really not easy, it is difficult. Actually, I’m having a hard time, until now, moving on about what happened last season. Siguro, given that I have new people with me to entertain, parang umalis na bangungot ko doon. Konti-konti nagmomove forward na ako plus I think natutuwa ang puso ko na tumanggap ng pagkatalo,” shared former DLSU Lady Spiker Abigail Maraño in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Sports.

One could always ask on what really went wrong for La Salle in that championship series against Ateneo. Was it the long rest due to their elimination sweep? Was it their expectation to face the National University Lady Bulldogs in the finals? Was it the loss of key players Michelle Gumabao and Rochelle Sison prior to the start of the season? Was it the system being deployed by their head coach? The list could go on and on.

In another exclusive interview with Yahoo Sports, current PH Team and La Salle head coach Ramil de Jesus broke his silence and shared some of his thoughts about the team’s shocking exit last season.

“Unang-una, siguro yung dapat bigyan mo ng respect ang kalaban mo then dapat paghandaan mo. Hindi ‘yung dahil nasweep mo ang elimination, [magiging relaxed ka dahil] mabibigyan ka ng thrice-to-beat advantage. Dapat balewalain mo na[ang thrice-to-beat advantage] kasi lahat ng teams natalo mo na. So siguro, respect sa kalaban ang naging lesson sa amin,” shared de Jesus.

The multi-titled head coach has a lot of high hopes and once again sets his sights on reclaiming their lost glory this coming season.

“Medyo mataas kasi [ang expectations this coming season], pinaghirapan namin ito at pinaghandaan din. Kung ano ‘yung naachieve ng team last year, gusto namin malagpasan iyon,” he added.

Moreover, de Jesus expects a tougher competition this time around with a lot of teams showing signs of improvement compared to last year’s three-way race between La Salle, Ateneo and NU.

“Lahat ng teams very competitive like FEU, UST and even UP. So dati pagdating ng schedule sasabihin namin na madaling laban lang ito at doon lang kami sa isa maghahanda. Ngayon dapat paghandaan namin lahat,” he added.

When asked about his team’s physical condition right now, de Jesus expressed his contentment as his team is nearing game shape and was able to avoid the injury bug.

“Nakikita ko naman na naging maganda ang physical conditioning nila. So far, we avoided ang injuries. Mahabang preparations ang ginawa namin para sa darating na season.”

For their season opener, La Salle shall face the Adamson Lady Falcons this coming Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

Note: As of press time, La Salle has yet to release its final lineup.