ADAMSON University gets its mettle tested against two-time defending champion De La Salle, with the Lady Falcons trying to avoid a third straight loss in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball tournament today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Lady Falcons are not soaring to expectations as a dark-horse team this season, losing three of their five duels.
And they are expected to labor in regaining their winning ways against a strong De La Salle side, which won four of its five games, at 4 p.m.
Adamson University’s American coach, Airess Padda, is disappointed after getting swept by University of Santo Tomas, 9-25, 29-31, 19-25, last week, and failed to complete a comeback in five sets against Ateneo de Manila, 18-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-15, 10-15, on Wednesday.
Padda already tweaked the rotation of the Lady Falcons, led by Jema Galanza, Chiara Permentilla, Myleen Paat, Eli Soyud, Lea Perez and setter Fen Emnas.
“We haven’t found something that is consistently working for our team yet,” Padda said. “So that’s a little disappointing because it’s our fifth match and it would be nice to go into a fifth set and have confidence in your lineup.”
Adamson University already surpassed its 1-13 finish last season, having won two games against Far Eastern University (FEU) and University of the Philippines. The Lady Falcons opened the year with a loss to National University on opening day.
“Of course, I’m thankful for the win, but you’re dealing with a program which has been losing for so long,” Padda said. “I feel like sometimes they don’t know how to handle success. They don’t know how to create momentum off their success—it was like we just crumbled.”
Against De La Salle, Padda wants her wards to shake off pressure and focus on their own performance.
De La Salle Head Coach Ramil de Jesus, on the other hand, wants the Lady Spikers to be cautious.
“Adamson University is dangerous when it finds its confidence and creates a momentum inside the court,” de Jesus said. “We cannot underestimate them because they are a complete team.”
The Lady Tamaraws, meanwhile, gun for their third triumph in five matches against winless University of the East (UE), which has yet to win after five games, at 2 p.m.
In the men’s side, the undefeated Tamaraws shoot for win No. 5 against the Red Warriors (0-5) at 8 a.m.,
De La Salle (2-3) battles Adamson University (1-4) at 10 a.m. in the other men’s duel.