NCR champion Kings’ Montessori is just a win away from securing one of the two semifinals tickets in Pool A after sweeping their first three games in the Rebisco Volleyball League National Championship Girls 18 and Under.
But head coach Rogelio Getigan said that his wards still have to work on crucial things inside the court if they want to go all the way to the finals.
After sweeping Holy Family Academy and Cagayan de Oro National High School in their first two matches over the weekend, Kings’ Montessori needed to recover from a first-set loss before dispatching University of San Jose Recolletos, 24-26, 25-21, 25-15, on Monday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Getigan rued the inconsistency of his team.
“Medyo baba taas, baba taas,” he said. “Pero ang importante nananalo, yun naman ang importante sa amin, sa mga bata e.”
Getigan is putting premium on communication inside the court as they need to win at least one of their remaining two matches against University of Mindanao Tagum (1-1) on Tuesday and Hawaii U-18 on Thursday for them to secure a semifinal berth in Pool A.
“Yung communication sa loob yun ang kulang namin. Kanina nagtitinginan kasi ayaw nila kumuha ng bola, titingin muna bago kumuha ng bola,” he said. “Kailangan din yung aggressiveness sa blocking tsaka yung service receive.”
The Kings’ Montessori coach knows that his wards will peak at the right time, especially given the confidence they gained after taking down national champion Nazareth School of National University in the regional finals.
“Mataas yung morale ng mga bata pero madalas kasi dati nakakaharap namin yung NU talaga sa lahat ng mga liga,” he said. “Last year, kami rin nagtapat sa NCR palaro so malaking bagay talaga yung nanalo kami doon.”
If Kings’ Montessori advances, it will see action in the semis on Friday morning. The finals and battle for third place will be held on the same day.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph