The Mapua Lady Cardinals nearly blew a 2-0 lead against the JRU Lady Bombers on Wednesday in NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball action. But Raissa Ricablanca and company kept their composure and ultimately pulled out the victory in five grueling sets.
In the process, at least for one match, the Lady Cardinals proved they aren’t chokers. They also stayed in the hunt for a quarterfinals berth with the win.
“Ang gusto namin i-aim ngayon is makapanalo kami kase nga doon sa point system dun sa bracket namin. And ayaw na namin mag-choke kase ‘yun na ‘yung parang laging nangyayari sa amin na parang ‘choker’ kami ganun kaya gusto namin mapanalo namin,” Ricablanca told Rebanse in an exclusive interview.
Ricablanca, Lady Cardinals Embrace the Pressure
This desire to shed the choker label, according to Ricablanca, helped fuel the Lady Cardinals in the end as they prevented the reverse sweep. The third-year player was particularly superb, firing 23 big points to lead Mapua to victory. And for her, the key was embracing the pressure rather than be overcome by it.
“’Yung pagkapit namin kase noong bago mag-change court sa fifth set, parang dikitan na rin ‘yung score. So, feeling ko ‘yung nangyari ngayon, na-love namin yung pressure and hindi namin hinayaan ‘yung pressure na kainin nalang kung ano ‘yung nararamdaman namin sa loob ng court,” she explained.
Lady Cardinals Share Scoring Burden
Another key to Mapua’s big win, according to the 23-year-old opposite/outside spiker, is the contributions of her teammates, particularly in the scoring department.
“Para sa akin po mas naging madali. Mas masarap din po kase sa pakiramdam na may iba kang maasahan instead na parang siyempre kapag ikaw ‘yung pinupuntahan nang pinupuntahan ng bola nakakapagod din naman po,” she pointed out.
Ricablanca made special mention of Alexander Leabres and Freighanne Garcia, whom she revealed just came back from injuries. Leabres and Garcia scored 11 and 16 points, respectively.
With them available again, Raissa’s work now became easier than usual.
“Kumbaga hindi rin po ako pagod na pagod nung fifth set. Nakakaambag pa po ako. Kase ‘yung Garcia and Leabres mayroon po silang injury, so ang iniisip ko lang po nung past games ay kailangan ko tapangan kase wala akong ibang aasahan kase nga po injured sila,” she added. “So, kung ako panghihinaan ng loob, walang mangyayari sa team namin.”
Still Optimistic
Mapua has two more games remaining, and Ricablanca is optimistic that her Lady Cardinals can finish the elimination round on a winning note despite the powerhouse teams in their way. If not, they’ll still strive to be a tough out.
“Ang iniisip ko nalang po is need po naming mapanalo ‘yung remaining games namin, kaso nga lang po alam namin magiging mabigat kase Benilde and Perpetual,” she said. “Pero kung hindi man po kami palarin na makapasok po, pagbubutihan nalang namin sa training para po sa twice-to-beat ng kabilang bracket may mangyari pa po or magawa pa po kami, so hindi po kami basta-basta papatalo.”
The Lady Cardinals are targeting to get the solo third spot in their group for an automatic quarterfinals berth.
