The Benilde Lady Blazers will begin their semis clash with the Perpetual Help Lady Altas later today, and that matchup figures to be a tough one for the five-peat-seeking squad out of Taft.
And for Benilde’s Cristy Ondangan, the Lady Blazers can ill afford the slow starts that have hounded them all season if they are to have a chance at defending their title and winning the crown in the NCAA Season 101 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
In Benilde’s quarterfinal win last March 17 against the Arellano Lady Chiefs, in fact, the Lady Blazers actually lost the first set, 25-22. But come the second frame, the four-time defending champions regrouped to finish the match in four sets. That’s exactly the kind of flat start the graduating Ondangan wants fixed.
“’Yun po kase ‘yung problema namin, nawawala kami, like slow start. Pero hindi naman po dapat na itutuloy-tuloy namin yung ganung game,” Ondangan told Rebanse in an exclusive interview right after Benilde beat Arellano.
The steady middle blocker added that, in order for the Lady Blazers to solve this problem, they must feed off one another’s energy.
“Kaya need po talaga namin, like mag-boost ng energy sa bawat isa, para lahat po parang ine-enjoy na lang namin ‘yung game,” she added.
Ondangan Stresses Next-Play Attitude
What’s more, the graduating player emphasized the need to recover quickly from a mistake and make sure it doesn’t happen again in the next play, and in the play after.
Usually the first player to come off the Benilde bench this season, Ondangan admitted that in their match against Arellano, she did exactly that, moving on from a few mistakes here and there and bringing positives overall.
“Siguro po recover lang nang recover pag nagkakamali and bawi lang po,” Ondangan pointed out.
True enough, Ondangan’s defensive presence was vital as she gave Benilde’s starting middle blockers, Zam Nolasco and Clydel Catarig, a lot of help on the defensive end.
Now back in familiar territory, Ondangan and the Lady Blazers will begin their best-of-three semifinals series against Perpetual later today. And best believe they’ll be aiming for a good start this time.
