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Laure's display of heart, toughness didn't surprise Rondina

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/04/23/042317_ust2.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">UST star EJ Laure (9) is helped to the bench after suffering an ankle injury. <cite>Photo by Richard Esguerra, ABS-CBN Sports</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – For the second game in a row, University of Santo Tomas (UST) star EJ Laure suffered an ankle injury that drove her to tears. For the second game in a row, Laure shook off the injury and played on.To UST skipper Sisi Rondina, it came as no surprise that Laure had simply shrugged off an injury when she could have sat out the rest of the game. It was simply another display of toughness and grit from a player that has repeatedly displayed the heart of a Tigress throughout the UAAP Season 79 tournament.&quot;Knowing EJ, hindi na ako (nagulat),&quot; said Rondina. &quot;Alam ko sa isip ko na pagkababa niya, ipa-padyak n&#x27;ya lang &#x27;yun. Pagka-tingin ko, noong tumalon na siya, ay, wala na, papasok na ito. Sobrang saya ko kasi bumalik siya.&quot;[I wasn&#x27;t surprised. I knew that she would just shake it off. So when I saw her jumping up and down on the sidelines, I knew she was going to return, and I was very happy about that.]Laure twisted her right ankle after stepping on the foot of La Salle&#x27;s Kianna Dy in the third set of their Final 4 game on Saturday, and the injury seemed severe enough that a stretcher was brought to the court. But Laure did not need the stretcher: she was helped to the UST bench, where her father, Eddie Laure, oversaw her treatment.When Laure exited the frame, the Tigresses led 7-3, trying valiantly to force an extension in their do-or-die match against the defending champion. She watched as La Salle rallied back, got her ankle taped – by her father, no less – and returned to the game to a massive ovation with UST now trailing, 13-15.Laure scored in the rally immediately after her return, much to the delight of the UST crowd that showered her with &quot;EJ, EJ&quot; chants. Her gutsy display inspired her teammates, especially Rondina, who came up huge in the final stretch of the third frame to tow the Tigresses to a 26-24 win.Unfortunately for UST, Laure&#x27;s return wasn&#x27;t enough. The Tigresses had no answer for La Salle&#x27;s net defense, and they lost in four sets. Yet there was no doubting the toughness of Laure, who had suffered a similar injury in their previous game against National University, and kept on playing.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/news/2017/04/22/lady-spikers-march-ninth-straight-finals-stint-25059">READ: Lady Spikers march to ninth straight Finals stint</a></li></ul>&quot;Hindi pa healed &#x27;yung una, ito na naman,&quot; Laure said after the game. &quot;Pero noong lumabas ako, gusto ko ulit bumalik, kahit masakit pa. Kaya pinilit ko talaga.&quot;[My other injury hasn&#x27;t even healed yet, and it happened again. But when I was subbed out, I immediately wanted to return even though it was painful.]Laure, the Season 77 Rookie of the Year, had no intention of sitting out the match, which proved to be their last game of the season.&quot;Gusto ko na nandoon talaga ako, at gusto ko na mag-contribute sa team,&quot; said Laure, who finished with 14 points. &quot;Nandoon ang pain, siyempre, pero hindi mo maramdaman. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, &#x27;Kaya ko pa &#x27;to.&#x27;&quot;[I wanted to be there to contribute to the team. I still felt the pain, but I told myself that I can do it.]For Rondina, seeing her friend go down once again with an injury only fired her up even more.&quot;Nasaktan ako sa nangyari kay EJ. Hindi ko tanggap na parang aalis at uupo na lang siya sa laro namin, na titingnan lang siya. Hindi, ayaw ko ng ganoon. Feeling ko, na gusto kong sumugod, gusto kong ipaglaban,&quot; said Rondina.&quot;Kaya ayun, yung paglabas ni EJ, pinadama ko na sa mga teammates namin na kailangan natin ibawi siya and kailangan natin na trabahuhin and ayun, pinakita ko sa kanila na hindi tayo basta-basta lang,&quot; she said emphatically.[I felt pain for her, and I couldn&#x27;t accept that she&#x27;s just going to sit on the bench during our game. I wanted to fight for her. That&#x27;s why I told our teammates that we need to fight for EJ and show La Salle that we&#x27;re not pushovers.]UST coach Kungfu Reyes attributed their third set fightback to his players&#x27; response to Laure&#x27;s injury, and even joked that perhaps, another player should have gotten injured in the fourth set as well, just to fire up the Tigresses anew.&quot;Sabi ko nga, dapat nagpasok ako ng player na mai-sprain ulit ng fourth set, baka sakaling may drama,&quot; he said. &quot;Kaya lang, biro na lang yun, hindi naman namin gagawin na kailangan pang may masaktan para lang maglaro.&quot;[I joked to them that maybe I should have sent in a player who can get sprained in the fourth set, just for drama. But it shouldn&#x27;t reach that point, that someone has to be injured for us to play well.]However, they were unable to sustain that fiery performance in the fourth set, when they trailed 1-11 against a La Salle team that was determined to march to a ninth consecutive Finals appearance.&quot;Naubos rin, kasi nagpitpitan pa ng dulo. Ibig sabihin, kaya naman. Hindi lang talaga na-sustain hanggang dulo,&quot; he said. &quot;Wala, hanggang doon lang talaga.&quot;[We ran out of steam. We can do it, but we can&#x27;t sustain the effort.]<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports</a> website.</div>

For the second game in a row, University of Santo Tomas (UST) star EJ Laure suffered an ankle injury that drove her to tears. For the second game in a row, Laure shook off the injury and played on.

For the second game in a row, University of Santo Tomas (UST) star EJ Laure suffered an ankle injury that drove her to tears. For the second game in a row, Laure shook off the injury and played on.

Laure's display of heart, toughness didn't surprise Rondina

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Laure's display of heart, toughness didn't surprise Rondina

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 23, 2017 01:48 PM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

UAAP Season 79

UAAP volleyball

UST Tigresses

EJ Laure

Sisi Rondina

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