UST's Laure cites lack of communication in loss to Ateneo

MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas (UST) star EJ Laure pointed to their failure to communicate inside the court as one of the factors in their loss to Ateneo de Manila University in their first game of the UAAP Season 79 tournament on Saturday.

Despite a combined 27 points from Laure and new team captain Cherry Rondina, the Tigresses failed to take a set from Ateneo, with the Lady Eagles taking a straightforward 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 victory in front of a packed crowd at the Big Dome.

"Yung pag-uusap lang talaga namin sa loob, parang walang leadership talaga," Laure said after the game, which saw her score 17 points on 12 attacks, two blocks, and three aces.

"Wala 'yung unang gustong umako ng pag-uusap sa loob ng court," she further explained.

Their communication woes evident as early as the first set, when Coach Kungfu Reyes called a timeout with UST down, 1-6, and told the players that they could barely hear each other in the din of the crowd and exhorted them to do a better job of talking.

In the third set, Rondina and libero Rica Rivera miscommunicated on what should have been a routine reception, and instead gave up an ace to Ateneo's Jia Morado.

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Rondina acknowledged her own shortcomings in the match, saying: "Overconfident ako, at hindi ko nabalik 'yung laro ko."

"Kulang lang talaga namin is pag-communicate sa isa't isa, sa team talaga," she added. "'Yun siguro ang kulang namin kanina."

Rondina noted that whenever they committed miscues, they got down on themselves and started succumbing to pressure.

"'Di ko alam, baka sobrang hyper or ganado lang talaga maglaro, tapos 'di na kami nakakabalik sa galaw namin," she said. "Nawalan kami ng receive, walang nag-uusap. Meron naman, kaso hindi nagkakarinigan, kasi sobrnag ingay talaga ng crowd."

UST entered Season 79 as one of the potential contenders, thanks in part to the presence of Rondina and Laure, two of the best open hitters in the league.

Despite the early defeat, they remain upbeat that they can work out their issues and live up to expectations.

"Siguro naman (maayos namin). Gagawin namin siya during training, at i-try namin ibalik ulit kung ano ang kulang namin," said Laure.

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