By MARK REY MONTEJO
The rivalry between La Salle and Ateneo never fails to deliver epic games and thrilling duels which at some point made them the central figures to the collegiate women’s volleyball in the country.
Though things changed, with the Lady Spikers continuing to outclass their rivals in the Blue Eagles after beating them for 15th consecutive time in a span of eight years or since 2017 (Season 78), DLSU head coach Ramil de Jesus still considers Ateneo as a threat, despite not having a go-to player in its group.
“Sa ngayon kasi hindi ko nakikita ‘yon, kasi ‘yong Ateneo parang walang go-to guy, ‘yon ‘yong nakikita ko,” said de Jesus after La Salle’s 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19 win over Ateneo last Wednesday evening, March 12, at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Kasi that time si Alyssa, bigay mo lang sa kanya bubuhayin nya na, ngayon parang walang Alyssa do’n sa Ateneo,” he added. “‘Yong Ateneo distributed lang ang bola kaya hindi mo masasabi na ‘yong Ateneo na pwedeng balewalain.”
De Jesus also stressed that their focus right now is to improve their card — especially with National University and University of Santo Tomas pacing the league almost halfway through the eliminations.
La Salle jumped to third spot with a 4-2 tally though it still had to overcome some tense moments with Lyann De Guzman and AC Miner leading the way for Ateneo.
However, their efforts went for naught as Shevana Laput fired her career-high scoring of 25 points with Angel Canino and Alleiah Malaluan backing her up with 25 and 12 points, respectively.
Same thing for Laput and Canino, noting they have pride and respect when they faced Ateneo, which was bugged with injuries.
“I mean, whether or not the other team has injured players, we still have to play with respect and pride because they are Ateneo at the end of the day,” said Laput.
“Siyempre, for us, sa team po namin, sobrang importante po yung pangalan ito.And then pinag-uusapan nga po namin yung pride habang naglalaro. Siyempre, tinatawag nga po kaming rivalry for a reason,” Canino added.
“Niremind lang kami na magkaroon ng pride and respeto sa kalaban.”
