La Salle ace Angel Canino isn’t pressing the panic button just yet as the Lady Spikers start 2-2 in the UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball tournament.
Angel Canino isn’t too concerned after a seesaw start for the DLSU Lady Spikers in UAAP Season 87, as they evened out their slate at 2-2 with a bounce back win against the UP Fighting Maroons on Sunday.
For the former Rookie-MVP, even if their narrow five-set loss against the UST Golden Tigresses earlier this week stung, there is still a lot more to play for just four games into the new season.
After licking their wounds from last Wednesday, Canino said that the team was able to move forward from the loss, which helped them face the Fighting Maroons with a renewed vigor.
[RELATED: La Salle vents ire on UP as Ramil de Jesus beats former deputy Benson Bocboc in first UAAP showdown]
“Gaya nga ng sinabi niyo na parang tough loss talaga siya nung nangyari against UST. Kinapitan namin ng sobra-sobra [yung laro] at nilaban namin pero kulang pa rin so, kaya kailangan namin mag-dobleng kayod din sa training,” said Canino after firing 24 points against UP.
“Kailangan din namin magkaron pa more ng connections sa bawa’t isa and after naman ng pagkatalo naman na yon, lahat naman nag-adjust agad, naka-move on agad and lahat naman ginawa na lang din hugot para maging better next time.”
The sense of accountability did wonders for La Salle, which drubbed an emerging UP squad in convincing fashion.
While she expected her team to work on themselves as the season went on, the third-year spiker was also permissive of how the younger players in their team are adjusting to the spotlight. Understanding how difficult it is, Canino said that they’ll just need to be patient.
At the end of the day, Canino believes, head coach Ramil de Jesus’ system will reign supreme.
“Siguro what’s different lang now di lang talaga consistent yung ngayon kasi bago lang din lahat, bago yung setter, madami kaming mga bata na kasama po. So, lahat talaga, kailangan talaga mag-adjust, hindi lang yung mga bata, hindi lang kaming mga seniors, so lahat po talaga,” said Canino.
“Pero, ang ano naman ngayon is that onti-onti, nag-gel kami, nandon na kami sa goal na gusto po namin, sa goal na gusto ni coach Ramil. Unti-unti, dun na kami nags-stick dun sa sistema ni coach Ramil long time ago,” she added.
Only time will prove Canino’s theory, though, as the Lady Spikers continue on their journey in Season 87.
Their next challenge will be in the form of the UE Lady Warriors on Saturday, March 8, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.