FOR a team sitting pretty at 10-0, it would be easy for La Salle to look ahead. Maybe the Final Four. Maybe the finals. Maybe even the championship.
Not Angel Canino and the rest of the Lady Spikers, though.
READ: For 16 seasons and counting, La Salle proves ability to adapt to survive
Fresh off clinching the first Final Four berth in UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball with four games to spare, Canino made it clear that La Salle’s spotless record means nothing if they were to lose sight of what got them there in the first place.
“Yun ‘yung mabuti sa team namin kasi hindi kami nagfo-focus sa kung ano ‘yung big goal namin. Naka-focus kami du’n sa one game at a time and kung ano pwede namin gawin, baguhin as a team and individuals talaga," Canino said.
“Yun ‘yung maganda kasi nagagawa rin talaga namin siya at na-apply sa mga games namin.”
The green-and-white's top ace, who already has a championship under her belt three seasons in, learned early that looking too far ahead can do more harm than good.
Hence, the formula is simple: take care of what’s in front or risk drifting away from the standard they’ve built.
Aiming high and bright
With four elimination games left, a potential sweep and an outright finals ticket is within reach, but still far from guaranteed.
The Lady Spikers still have to go through fellow contenders National U and Far Eastern University, both capable of derailing any unbeaten run, with also-ran squads Ateneo and University of the East looking to play spoiler with nothing left to lose.
“We’re happy na sigurado na kami sa Final Four, pero at the same time, hindi kami titigil lang du’n kasi marami pa kami mga games. Kailangan namin mag-focus du’n sa kung sino pa ‘yung next na makakalaban," Canino said.
If anything, the early qualification has only sharpened La Salle’s focus because being 10-0 isn’t the destination, it’s just a step towards Taft's 13th title.
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