BY ANDREI BARRANTES
LA Salle may have picked up the pace as of late, but their head coach in Ramil De Jesus still sees a huge point of improvement for his squad.
Since their opening loss to National U, ‘RDJ’ has spoken openly about the need for their setters to step up.
READ: La Salle asserts eight-year mastery of Ateneo
While the green-and-white trio of Julyana Tolentino, Mikole Reyes and Ela Raagas have shown strong outings, none have been consistent for RDJ’s liking.
In their four-set win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, Reyes delivered 20 excellent sets and the multi-titled coach can only hope she remains consistent from here on out.
“Ang nakita ko lang siguro, kailangan stable nung setter namin, and maniwala yung setter namin sa sarili niya kasi sa puno’t dulo, siya rin talaga eh,” he said.
Given how their offense lives and dies by the confidence of their setters, De Jesus believes their championship aspirations depend on how far their playmakers can take them.
“Pagka medyo inconsistent yung setter, kahit ganitong katibay yung spikers mo, wala rin magawa eh. Kaya siya talaga yung pinush namin na magka-tiwala sa sarili niya.”
There have been plenty of promise shown from his young squad, especially during practices but De Jesus acknowledges the pressure of the bright lights may be getting to them come game time.
Still, he’s confident that with the right direction, and their continuous commitment during training, his setters will get there.
“Sa practice namin, lumalabas naman yung nasa 80 percent ng kayang gawin eh, pero pag dating sa game kasi may pressure na eh. So talagang doon mo malalaman kung medyo matibay yung dibdib ng mga players mo, kung kaya iexecute yung ginagawa sa training, he explained.
“So sa ngayon, may makikita kang ganung resulta sa training eh, so inaantay ko na lumabas sa game at maging consistent na ganun.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
