THIS is like déjà vu for the Ateneo Lady Eagles.
The loss by the Lady Eagles was a mirror image of what happened in the first round of the tournament where they lost to defending champion De La Salle after taking the first two sets.
After winning the first two sets, the Lady Eagles faltered once again and let La Salle come back to pull off a 20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-6 win on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Now they hope to prevent this from becoming a recurring nightmare.
“We have to learn from this because second time na ito na we won the first two sets tapos tatlong sunud-sunod (na set na talo),” said Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb. “Sana hindi na mangyari. Ganoon talaga.”
Gorayeb said that it was the reception errors that turned the game around for La Salle as Ateneo lost a 13-8 lead en route to a 25-22 third-set win for the Lady Spikers.
“Ang pinaka-main (mistake) na nakita ko, ’yung hindi kami naka-receive. Importante ’yung maka-receive kami. Lamang kami ng 13-8, tapos missed receive, missed receive,” said Gorayeb.
Gorayeb also gave huge credit to La Salle in the comeback.
“La Salle played a good game. They have a bigger heart than us siguro ngayon,” Gorayeb admitted.
While admitting that the Lady Spikers now have a psychological advantage, Gorayeb isn’t giving up as they try to bounce back in Game Two on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“It’s not over until the fat lady sings. Mahirap … pero we will have to do our best next time. I have three days to make adjustments,” Gorayeb said.
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