Coach: ‘More trouble coming’ for Maroons
University of the Philippines’ newfound confidence and unbeaten record will go through the proverbial wringer on Wednesday when the Fighting Maroons, led by Casiey Dongallo, battle powerhouse La Salle in the elimination round of Season 88 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
“And the next one is La Salle, so, there’s more trouble coming,” Italian coach Fabio Menta said after the Maroons won a second straight five-setter that put the squad in position for a first three-game winning streak since the 2022 bubble season. “But we need to be healthy first, because when we are healthy, we defend better, we attack better.”
Menta did not say it, but there really is trouble up ahead, as his Maroons collide with defending champion National University on Sunday to wrap up a really trying stretch where UP will be clashing with the only two teams in the tournament that haven’t lost yet.
“So, we’re looking at being first, strong [and healthy] enough to play La Salle,” Menta went on. “And then we have NU. I mean, you know, the next two teams are the champions in the last years.”
“[Winning] every game is possible. We proved it last year, beating La Salle and NU,” Menta went on. “We’re gonna try.”
It will take more than just motivational speaking to make that happen, though, as the Lady Spikers are displaying mean form, meaner than they did last season.
La Salle will be coming off a straight-sets demolition job of the University of Santo Tomas, as new captain Shevana Laput is playing with new brilliance and resiliency.
Dialed in
And La Salle is really dialed in, with the coaching staff making sure that the Lady Spikers stay on their toes.
“We treat every game the same, prepare for every game the same way because there are no easy opponents here,” assistant coach Noel Orcullo said in Filipino. “You have to work hard for every win here.”
And while the Lady Spikers and the Maroons battle at 3 p.m. to see who joins idle National U at the top, the Golden Tigresses and the Ateneo Eagles slug it out at 1 p.m., looking to snap out of 0-2 starts.
Santo Tomas starting the way it has is an alarming situation since the Tigresses have come into the new season with an intact roster and a new coach in Shaq delos Santos.
Detdet Pepito has also abandoned plans to turn pro and played her last season to be the backbone of the Tigresses’ defense one final time, and this still couldn’t help UST avoid a 0-2 start for the first time since the 2017 season.
