IVY Lacsina admitted that the pressure of matching Akari’s silver-medal run last year may have gotten the better of them in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
“Nu’ng una kasi, parang lagi po naming nasa isip na nag-finals tayo before. Parang mas nahihirapan po kami kasi nga iba naman po yung noon sa ngayon,” Lacsina shared with SPIN.ph as she matched her career-high 28-piece in the series-opening five-set win over Galeries Tower.
READ: Lacsina, Soyud take charge as Akari moves a win away from semis
“Kaya sabi namin, tanggalin na namin sa mindset namin na nag-finals tayo nu’n. Kailangang trabahuin natin ulit ngayon para makapunta ulit tayo (sa finals).”
Although Akari might now be just one win away from a second-straight semifinals appearance, its preliminary-round run had more lows than highs in which the Chargers even lost more than they won with after finishing with a 5-6 record.
Come the playoffs, the Chargers fought tooth-and-nail to defeat Farm Fresh in the qualifying round and Galeries Tower in its playoffs opener, both in five sets.
More To Akari Than Oly
Safe to say that Akari found a way to still be a winning unit even in the absence of its heavy-hitting American import Oly Okaro.
“Hindi kami pwedeng tumigil kasi wala na si Oly, wala nang iba. Kami-kami na lang yung maghihilaan pataas,” Lacsina said.
“Medyo mahirap ‘yun punan (iniwan ni Oly na spot) pero kami po kasi ngayong conference, binibigyan namin ng pressure ‘yung sarili namin in a good way para po malaro namin ‘yung laro namin.
Touted as Okaro’s successor this conference, veteran winger Eli Soyud is keen on repaying the team’s trust to break into the semifinals for a second straight conference.
“‘Yun nga laging minemention ni coach na malaking nawala sa amin nung Reinforced si Oly. Kailangan ko lang talaga maging consistent and kailangan kong tumulong. Jung hindi man ako makapalo, siyempre sa blockings, sa depensa babawi,” Soyud said.
“Yun lang din yung pinanghahawakan ko, yung tiwala ni coach Taka (Minowa).”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
