IN his first tournament in charge, coach JP Yude is hoping the Adamson Lady Falcons can earn a place among the elite.
They are a win away from bolstering the bid to shed their tag as underdogs.
The Lady Falcons are on the the cusp of the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals title after a stunning five-set win over La Salle on Wednesday in San Juan.
READ: Adamson survives La Salle to move on cusp of SSL National Invitationals title
Lucille Almonte led the way as the Lady Falcons stunned the reigning UAAP champions in the opener of the best-of-three title series.
They look to finish the job in the second match on Saturday, 4 p.m.
Yude sais he was very proud of the Lady Falcons.
“Lagi ko kasing sinasabi sa kanila, may tiwala ako sa kanila. Kaya I always encourage them, especially nung fourth set na down kami, sabi ko ‘di pa tapos ‘yung laban. ‘Di pa naman 25. Sabi ko isa-isahin natin. Tiyagain natin,” said Yude.
The former Falcon also admitted to showing some tough love midway through the match, which ultimately paid off in the end.
“Siguro, na-absorb nila ‘yung mga sinabi ko. Siguro nakita din nila sa akin, for me, ‘di pa talo. Sabi ko sa kanila, ayusin niyo ‘yung mga mukha niyo, yung body language niyo. Hindi pa tapos ‘yung laban. Siguro nakita nila yung eagerness na i-push sila,” Yude said.

"Sabi ko nga before, lagi pag La Salle kalaban pareng dehado agad tayo. Ngayon, papagurin na natin. Kailangan maging palaban tayo kung gusto nating manalo," Yude asserted.
Almonte had a team-high 24 points as Ayesha Juegos (13 points) and the blocking duo of Lorene Toring (10 points) and Nicole Ancheta (10 points) fueled the spirited fightback.
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