By MARK REY MONTEJO
After enjoying the rewards and other perks for winning back the UAAP title via a mighty 16-0 sweep, the La Salle Lady Spikers are now back to slow grind before switching to a spartan-like training as they intend to extend their reign to another year.
It won’t be easy, but Angel Canino and company are ready to sacrifice once again in their bid to end their La Salle stint in a blaze of glory.
“Actually, sa ngayon, ‘di pa ganun [ka-intense] ‘yong training namin, kakabalik pa lang namin… mahabang bakasyon ‘yong ginawa nila kasi wala ka nang mahihiling sa mga bata,” said head coach Ramil de Jesus.
“Kung talagang nag-focus, ando’n ‘yong focus nila, at ‘yon ‘yong siguro nawala no’ng nauna kong mga seniors ko na iba-iba ‘yong goal nila, ito kasi magkaka-batch… iba ‘yong sisterhood nila,” added de Jesus, who was recently hailed as UAAP women’s volleyball Coach of the Year.
Even Canino is preparing herself well in time for the tough grind as she and fellow power hitters like Shevana Laput, Amie Provido, Shane Reterta, and Eshana Nunag have one common goal in mind – that is to raise the championship for the second straight year.
“Siyempre, off-season, we started our training na… start ulit kami from the basic, start ulit kami kung ano pang pwedeng ma-improve from the last season,” said Canino, who bagged her second CPC UAAP women’s volleyball Player of the Year plum.
“At kung anong pwedeng madagdag individually na talent, at kung ano pang pwedeng gawin para maging strong or mas mag-gel pa ‘yong connection ng bawat isa,” she added.
The Lady Spikers dethroned the three-peat seeking National Lady Bulldogs in a Finals sweep – the similar fashion they suffered to the Bella Belen-powered squad in the prior year – to get back to the top of the distaff side.
“Bawat games naman dumadaan, kung ano man kahinatnan no’ng games, kung kulang ‘yong preparations mo maghabol ka, pero kung ando’n ka sa taas ikaw ‘yong habulin,” De Jesus stressed.
Meanwhile, Canino and Provido were included in the Alas Pilipinas roster pool for the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games in Japan – an opportunity that de Jesus wants his players to seize as they can obtain more confidence.
