IN the eyes of La Salle head coach Ramil de Jesus, the biggest change in the storied Ateneo-La Salle rivalry he has witnessed over his 28-year tenure boils down to one player: Alyssa Valdez.
Even as the Lady Spikers hold a 55-13 all-time head-to-head record over the Blue Eagles, those 13 Ateneo wins were defined by one of the sport’s most phenomenal all-time greats in Valdez.
READ: La Salle asserts eight-year mastery of Ateneo
A go-to player of her likeness, in RDJ’s view, is what Ateneo has missed since Valdez bade Katipunan farewell.
But it isn’t necessarily a bad thing even as Ateneo continues to rebuild its team back to the glory days it once had.
“Sa ngayon kasi, hindi ko nakikita yun. ‘Yung Ateneo, walang player na parang go-to guy. That time kasi nu’ng si Alyssa (Valdez) pa (nasa Ateneo), bigay mo lang lahat kay Alyssa tapos bubuhayin na ni Alyssa eh,” de Jesus said.
“Ngayon, parang walang Alyssa du’n sa Ateneo. Even lang ‘yung team ng Ateneo, distributed lahat ‘yung bola. (Pero) ‘yung Ateneo, pwede mong balewalain kasi distributed na ‘yung bola. Before kasi, kapag si Alyssa, si Alyssa lang talaga babantayan mo.”
Pride over prejudice
Green and blue might be the shades of one of the country’s greatest sporting rivalries but it has never been defined by animosity.
At the end of the day after all these years and title duels, playing Ateneo will always be a matter of pride more than anything for the green-and-white.
“Every game naman, we have that pride talaga na kailangang dala-dala namin as a Lady Spiker. ‘Yung legacy ni coach Ramil (de Jesus), ‘yung history ng mga Lady Spikers, siyempre dala-dala dapat namin ‘yun every game,” said Canino.
“The difference lang sa Ateneo kasi we have what you call a rivalry so siyempre, kailangang mas may dagdag kang pride at puso na ipapakita na kaya pa rin naming panindigan kung ano yung napanindigan ng ilang years nila coach Ramil.
Shevana Laput added: “When we play against Ateneo, it’s more than just playing their team. It’s playing against their school and representing our school and the whole Lasallian community.
“For sure, there’s a bit of added pressure and added bit of pride that we have to show.”
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