Perfect 10
La Salle extended its UAAP Final Four appearance to a record 16th straight time on Sunday, and much of that success could be credited to coach Ramil De Jesus’ passion to develop players who have so far made for dominant Lady Spikers who have thrived in different UAAP eras and beyond.
The Lady Spikers advanced to the semifinals, yet again, after a 25-15, 25-18, 25-20 sweep of University of the Philippines on Sunday at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion, upping their unbeaten run to 10 that moved them within four more victories of putting a stepladder playoff in play before the Season 88 championship is decided.
And for De Jesus, this latest success is part of a painstaking process.
“Every batch loses players. That’s the challenge in college because every four years, players leave and new ones come in,” De Jesus said in Filipino. “You have to train them (incoming players) and help them adapt to the system, which is the hardest part.”
The 12-time UAAP champion coach has been the architect of La Salle’s success. He is also the longest-tenured UAAP volleyball coach and has won eight titles in the 12 times the Lady Spikers have made the finals since that Final Four streak began in 2009.
Meanwhile, the Golden Tigresses turned back old rival Far Eastern, 25-17, 25-17, 18-25, 25-17, in the other women’s game to boost its Final Four chances.
MVP frontrunner Angge Poyos powered the Tigresses with 18 points off 15 kills as Santo Tomas bounced back from a tough loss to La Salle last week.
The improvement in local volleyball play also keeps De Jesus on his toes. He also does his homework.
“Volleyball keeps evolving every year, so you have to keep up,” he said. “You can’t afford to get left behind. If you don’t match the level (of improvement), you’ll fall behind (the other coaches).”
But his talent isn’t just about being up-to-date on how the play improves. He has the knack of bringing out the best in the roster that he has.
“Whatever (kind of) players you have, you make the most out of them,” he said. “(You have to) bring out their talent and push them to see it in themselves too. It’s hard when a player just has potential but can’t show it.
“If something’s lacking, you work hard on it so they can develop and contribute to the team,” he said.
Two stars that De Jesus helped mold are Shevana Laput and Angel Canino, who have fully embraced his system and culture and are now the ones busy helping integrate the younger players like rookie setter Eshana Nunag.
“Right now, we’re in that process with the younger players and the seniors are helping implement the system so that when they leave, it (winning tradition) continues,” the La Salle coach said. “That’s the goal. To keep the team hungry for wins.”
Against the Fighting Maroons, Laput delivered 16 points, while Canino had 15. Amie Provido had 10 points that counted four blocks, with Shane Reterta and Lilay Del Castillo chipping in with nine and eight points, respectively.
Nunag tossed 15 excellent sets on top of two aces.
La Salle will take a Holy Week break and return to action on April 8 against Far Eastern University at the Mall of Asia Arena.
UP slid to a 4-6 record in sixth place with no one scoring in double figures. Niña Ytang and Jelai Gajero had nine points each.
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