By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Their recent defeat came last Saturday, where the defending champion Lady Spikers failed to sustain their hot start and yielded to the Lady Eagles, 12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19, before a crowd of 18,620 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Ang importante naman kasing game is yung semis. Kumbaga ito, placing lang. So kung ano man yung nangyari dito, leason learned sa amin,” said De Jesus, whose team first bowed to Ateneo, 26-24, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17, last March 4.
De Jesus added the defeat will somehow affect his players’ confidence, but he is optimistic that the long respite will give them enough time to recuperate for the crucial Final Four round.
“Siguro, sa confidence, siguro yun lang yung pinakamabigat, at least meron pang time para mag-ayos para sa team,” said De Jesus, adding that they will return to training immediately until Wednesday before taking a break for the Holy Week.
La Salle had no answer for Ateneo’s deep bench, where rookie Juliane Samonte stepped up with 10 points to help the squad.
Bea De Leon and Michelle Morente also provided muscle power at the attack line with the absence of Jho Maraguinot, who was asked to take a rest in time for the crucial next phase.
La Salle, which settled for the No. 2 seeding with its 11-3 win-loss record in the elims, will be meeting third-seeded University of Santo Tomas in the Final Four.
