MANILA, Philippines – "Embarrassing."
That was how Adamson head coach Air Padda described the Lady Falcons' game against the previously-winless University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors on Sunday, March 4, that was marred by a whopping 52 errors.
"For me, it's embarrassing [because] I don't, we don't train them like that. I don't know who that team was out there," said Padda.
The coach pointed to her squad's "complacent" attitude as one of the factors behind their lackluster performance in the 5-setter.
"They showed up with a very weak mindset today. They were really complacent, they didn't respect UE, and they didn't care, they're way too cocky," said Padda.
"I'm just still trying to take in what happened. I don't understand how we made that many errors. It was almost like they were playing for the other team, like they wanted UE to win, I don't know."
A week after upsetting reigning champions De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers, the Lady Falcons' "eagerness to win" was nowhere to be found. They were derailed from taking the 4th set of Sunday's game due to 16 errors made in that set alone.
Adamson also dropped the first set to UE, with their starters Jema Galanza, Chiara Permentilla, and Eli Soyud benched throughout. May Roque, Chrislyn Uy, and Bernadette Flora stepped up for the Lady Falcons instead.
Although UE took the benching of Adamson's starters as a sign of belittlement, Padda explained it was because of her starters' absences in practices.
"We just thought other girls deserve an opportunity to play. Eli and Jema weren't even in training this week so I thought they don't deserve a chance to start," the coach said.
According to Padda, Galanza was nursing her ankle from the DLSU match, Permentilla attended to personal matters, and Soyud was sick the whole week.
Despite the criticism, the coach does not regret benching the trio as Roque, Uy, and Flora were able to secure an early lead for Adamson in the first set with a 7-1 run.
"I don't regret it. I don't think it was the reason why we lost. I mean, I have morals as a coach that I have to stick to... and when you're not in training the whole week, you can't just show up and play," she said.
Padda and her squad are still in the process of figuring out how to bounce back as their second round starts on Saturday, March 10. The Lady Falcons will open their second round run against the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons at the Filoil Flying V Centre. – Rappler.com