De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde didn't just come to fight in its Game 1 victory against Lyceum of the Philippines University in the NCAA Season 98 women's volleyball finals - the Lady Blazers dominated.
Still, Benilde head coach Jerry Yee pointed out that the series isn't done yet and said they still have a lot to work on as they eye their second straight season sweep and championship.
"Maraming marami. Marami kaming errors, marami kaming kailangan pang gawin. I try to tell them na 'wag mag-base sa kalaban, kumbaga we need to improve ourselves," Yee said on Tuesday.
"'Yung kalaban namin dito is 'yung sarili namin so sana magtuloy-tuloy kami."
("A lot. We had a lot of errors, we have a lot to do. I try to tell them not to base their play on their opponents, but we need to improve ourselves... the enemy here is ourselves so hopefully we continue on.")
In Game 1, Benilde was dominant in almost all aspects as they notched a straight-sets win, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19.
They had a total of 40 spikes against the Lady Pirates' 32 while also rejecting Lyceum's attacks eight times while Lyceum had only one block courtesy of Jaja Tulang.
In service aces, Benilde had four, two of which came from setter Cloanne Mondoñedo, while Lyceum had only one from Joan Doguna.
Benilde, known for its strong floor defense, had a total of 32 digs and 18 excellent receptions but Lyceum got the better in those departments, collecting 35 digs and 27 receptions.
And Benilde is out to maximize the two-day break before plunging back to the court as they look to close out the series on Friday.
"Gusto naman talaga ng team na makuha 'yun. Sabi nga ni coach, ilang beses kami maglalaro ng championship na kaya naming magback-to-back so ayun, trabaho lang naman 'yung need naming gawin," last season's Finals MVP Gayle Pascual said.
"Hindi pa naman tapos, may Game 2 pa. 'Yun naman 'yung sinasabi ni coach sa amin, na mahaba pa 'to."
("That's what we really want to get. Like coach said, how many times will you play for the championship with a chance for a back-to-back, so there, we just need to work... This is not over, there's still Game 2. That's what coach tells us, this is far from over.")
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
