The Lions will bring this confidence into their next games for sure.
It’s one of the rare times a loss meant something, especially if you’re a young team trying to gain experience.
After their opening game defeat, Sta. Rosa team captain Harvey Quezada took comfort in the fact that his team showed it belonged in the Spikers’ Turf.
The Lions held their own against Imus-ITP on Sunday, 25-22, 28-26, 29-31, 25-16 to kickstart their Open Conference campaign at the Paco Arena.
“Nilalagay po namin sa mindset namin na player rin sila. Noong game namin noong una magiging motivation namin para kalabanin ang Cignal at kunin ang unang panalo this conference,” said Quezada on meeting some national team players in the opener in Tuesday’s episode of One Sports' The Game.
Jericho Adajar, meanwhile, said he was shocked with how the team, which was coming off a fifth place finish in a field of seven, fared against a formidable Imus side handled by Sammy Acaylar.
“Sobra pong nagulat kasi based sa tuneup games namin, hindi connected bawat isa, pero sa napakita namin sa first game, may bright future talaga team namin,” said Adajar.
After dropping the first two sets, the Lions showed their teeth in the third set to avoid a sweep. But things went downhill in an error-prone fourth frame, with most of the miscues likely coming due to miscommunication.
Still, this loss will go a long way in the development as these young Lions.
“'Yung nakakalaban namin 'yung mga talagang beterano na, 'yung nasa highest level na. 'Yun ang pinakamaganda talaga,” said Adajar.