LONG-TIME La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus maybe on leave for a while now, but he didn't miss the chance to make his presence felt ahead of the team's grudge match against defending champion National University.
Interim coach Noel Orcullo bared RDJ gave the team a morale-boosting pep talk hours before the big game.
"'Si [Coach Ramil] kaninang umaga, nagbigay siya ng pep talk [sa team] bago kami umalis [kaya] ayun, maganda ang resulta," said Orcullo after the Lady Spikers' 25-10, 25-15, 25-21 win over the Lady Bulldogs at the MOA Arena.
READ: Unbeaten La Salle heaps more woes on NU
"[Sabi n'ya] hindi pwedeng magpapa-intimidate ... dahil last year, hindi [kami] nakakuha ng set. [Mabuti] naging effective naman 'yung mga paalala namin."
Orcullo, who has now led the Lady Spikers to a 7-0 sweep of the first round, played coy when asked if the multi-titled tactician will make his long-awaited comeback in Round 2 beginning on Saturday, March 25.
Fifi Sharma, who posted her second straight double-digit outing for La Salle with 11 markers, also honored RDJ's role in the team's perfect start to the season.
"It's always meaningful when Coach Ramil gives us advice before the game," she said. "Siyempre nami-miss namin siya. It means a lot to us na he's always there behind everything and he's the main reason why we achieved this win today."
La Salle will stake its perfect slate to start the second round of the eliminations when it takes on the NU Lady Bulldogs for the second time in three day.
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