The San Sebastian Lady Stags are facing a tall order later today: beat the undefeated Letran Lady Knights to force a winner-take-all in their quarterfinals pairing. And coach Roger Gorayeb knows exactly what his wards are facing. He also knows what he wants them to do.
“Malakas ‘yung Letran eh, kumpleto sila sa player. All we can do is play hard [and] give them a hard time, and who knows, malay mo, machambahan namin sila,” Gorayeb said in an exclusive post-game interview with Rebanse.
The Lady Stags sealed a date with Letran in the quarters after beating the JRU Lady Bombers on Friday in the inaugural Play-In Tournament in NCAA Women’s Volleyball. And, according to Gorayeb, his team’s win was in part due to his players’ sky-high confidence, knowing they’ve beaten JRU twice prior.
“We are just lucky na and confident ngayon kase dalawang beses na namin natalo yung JRU, kaya iba yung confidence level ng mga bata. Iwasan nalang sana sa susunod yung mga mali na sinasabi sa kanila,” he added.
San Sebastian will need every ounce of belief and confidence later, when they take on the unbeaten Lady Knights.
Gorayeb Gets Real About San Sebastian’s Chances
Having coached for a long time already, Gorayeb knows how big of a challenge it is to beat a locked-and-loaded Letran squad. So, forgive him if he’s approaching it with a bit of a nothing-to-lose mentality, noting that whatever the outcome, he’s still satisfied with what his Lady Stags have accomplished this season.
“We have to beat them twice and mabigat, mabigat [talaga],” Gorayeb acknowledged. “Pero okay na din ‘yung nagawa namin, ‘yung aming laban for this game. ‘Di bale, next year nalang. Babawi kami.”
But before looking ahead, San Sebastian still has a chance to pull out a stunner when it takes on Letran later at 2:30 p.m. at the San Andres Gym in Manila.
