IF there’s someone who’d best understand how La Salle’s setters go from zero to hero throughout their UAAP careers, it would be one of the green-and-white’s all-time greats in Kim Fajardo.
Before her decorated collegiate career came to a close, the three-time UAAP champion shared the most indispensable words given to her by longtime Lady Spikers head coach Ramil de Jesus that forever changed her perspective and approach to playmaking.
“Hindi siya payo, pero tumatak talaga ‘to sa’kin. Nu’ng latter part na ‘to ng years ko sa La Salle, may sinabi siyang, ‘Bahala ka na sa team mo.’ Tumatak yun sa’kin,” Fajardo shared with SPIN.ph.
“Kailangan mo siyang panindigan, tanggapin buong-puso na yun ang role mo. Nakasalalay sa'yo yung team mo. Panindigan mo lang yun and the rest will follow.”
That same line of thought is what Fajardo hopes to instill in Taft's present trifecta of setters in Julyana Tolentino and rookies Mikole Reyes and Ela Raagas.
While they may be younger than aces Angel Canino and Shevana Laput, age and lack of experience shouldn’t hold them back from playing like seniors and acting like captains in their own right.
“Hindi na akong magugulat kung talagang pinupukpok sila (ni coach Ramil). Bata, matanda, wala siyang (pakialam) kahit sino ka pa kasi trabaho mo yan eh,” Fajardo said.
“Ikaw yung setter. Hindi man ikaw yung captain, ikaw pa rin yung captain kapag naglalaro na. Yun yung role ng setter. Sa'yo nakakasalalay yung galaw ng team.”
Setter solutions
After RDJ’s post-game critique of his setters’ early struggles in their opening-day loss to National U, the Lady Spikers' playmakers slowly but surely began stepping up to the plate.
Reyes, sister of school legend Mika Reyes, had her best game yet with 23 excellent sets and three points in playing all four frame of their triumph over University of the East.
READ: La Salle surrenders set to UE, recovers in time for second straight win
Tolentino, meanwhile, posted 10 excellent sets and a point when La Salle took down the University of the Philippines a week ago, also in a four-set effort.
READ: Canino carries La Salle past UP, back into win column
Those are much-welcome developments for the Lady Spikers who have had to deal with questions about their setters since Fajardo left.
Former La Salle-turned-PVL stars Mich Cobb, Mars Alba, and Julia Coronel emerged as Fajardo’s heiresses, yet during their brief stints as lead playmakers in the UAAP, none were as steady and established as the likes of NU's Lams Lamina, University of Santo Tomas’ Cassie Carballo, and Far Eastern University’s Tin Ubaldo from the get-go.
Greenlight, bright white
Nonethless, Fajardo remains upbeat about this current trio of Lady Spikers playmakers - granted they keep in mind the honor, pride, and privilege that come along with representing the longtime powerhouse.
“Sobrang ganda ng feeling at ng position nila ngayon. Kung sino man yung mag-start, sino man yung nagse-set sa loob, La Salle team pa rin yan. Ang pinakamagandang gawin is panindigan talaga yung pagiging setter," she said.
"Kailangan mong i-absorb kung magalit man sa'yo yung coach, kung anumang marinig mo sa labas. Kailangan mag-absorb, mag-reflect, tapos listen sa coaches kung anong dapat gawin and then i-apply.”
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