Green Spikers face tougher Final Four roads after surprising UE upset

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The DLSU Green Spikers finished the eliminations with a 7-7 record after being upset by the erstwhile winless UE Red Warriors in four sets, 23-25, 25-15, 21-25 and 22-25 last February 16 at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

Raymark Woo led the Green Spikers with 16 points and 2 blocks, while Red Christensen added 14 markers, and team captain Philip Cerveza with 13.

On the other hand, Ace Mandani had 13 points for UE.

With this win, the Green Spikers have another chance to crack the Final Four with a playoff game against Adamson this coming Wednesday, 2:00 pm, at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

Lady Spikers smash tough Lady Bulldogs to sweep elimination round

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The road to the title begins.

Playing their final game of the elimination round, the DLSU Lady Spikers rose to the occasion after drubbing the gritty NU Lady Bulldogs in 4 sets, 14-25, 26-24, 25-21, and 25-20 last February 15, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ara Galang led the Lady Spikers with 15 points and 4 blocks while Team Captain Abigail Maraño added 14 points and 6 digs. In addition, defensive anchor Mika Reyes tallied 11 points and 4 rejections.

On the other hand, the sister tandem of Jaja and Dindin Santiago scored 14 and 13 points respectively.

With this win, the Lady Spikers swept the elimination round with a 14-0 record and will own a thrice-to-beat advantage come the championship round.

 

Green Batters drop finals opener against Ateneo

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The DLSU Green Batters came up short against the Ateneo Blue Batters, 10-8, last February 14, in their best-of-three UAAP 76 Baseball Championship series at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

With this loss, La Salle must beat Ateneo in the next two games in order to secure the title. Game 2 will be this coming Tuesday, 12 noon, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

“Hindi naman sila sumuko. Sinabi ko na kahit na behind na kami ng ilang run, mahaba pa ang game and anything can happen. Medyo kinapos lang kami sa game namin,” shared La Salle Head Coach Joseph Orillana after the game.

After building up a 3-1 lead at the end of the 2nd inning, La Salle can sense some smooth sailing already but the defending champions wouldn’t give up that easily without a gritty fight.

The top of the 4th inning would be the decisive moment of the game as the Green Batters could not get any momentum going. Adding salt to the wounds, La Salle’s untimely errors gave six runs to the opposition. At the end of this inning, the Green Batters trailed 3-7.

However, the Green Batters simply refused to give up in the succeeding innings. Behind the sturdy efforts of Dino Imperial, Paul Naguit and Andre Palacios, La Salle would notch a combined 5 points during the 6th and 7th innings to tie the game at 8-8.

But Ateneo would get the final touches of the games after scoring 2 runs in the extra inning.

Despite dropping the opening game, La Salle refuses to let down and looks forward to a pivotal Game 2.

“Sa second game buo pa rin kami. Kailangan talaga namin maramdaman ang mga ganito para tumibay sila. Pagdating dito, puso sa puso ang labanan dito. So ang inaano ko lang sa kanila, prepare for the second game and then buhos na lahat,” Coach Orillana added.

 

 

La Salle a win away from elims sweep after UE drubbing

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One win away from a commanding sweep.

The DLSU Lady Spikers quickly dispatched the UE Lady Red Warriors last February 12 in straight sets, 25-16, 25-15, 25-14, at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

Cyd Demecillo led the team with 10 points and 1 block while team captain Abigail Marano and Mika Reyes scored 8 apiece.

For UE, Shaya Adorador led the team with 7 points while Sarina Bulan and Michelle Manansala had 5 points apiece.

This win gives the Lady Spikers an unblemished 13-0 record. They shall face the NU Lady Bulldogs this coming February 15, 4:00 pm, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Lady Tennisters fall down against NU, series tied at 1-1

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The DLSU Lady Tennisters came up short in nabbing their second straight championship after a tough road block against National University, 3-1, last February 12 at the Olivarez College Tennis courts.

La Salle’s doubles tandem composed of Nikki Arandia and Anne Castillo were turned down by their NU counterparts in Kimberly Uytico and Junnalyn Polito with a 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 outing.

The other doubles match between La Salle’s Pauline Cacapit and Lynette Palasan also experienced a defeat to NU’s Marie Nagret and Anna Bienes with a couple of 0-6 outings.

Going over to the singles category, team captain Regina Santiago maintained her undefeated streak after striking down Anna Patrimonio of NU with a 7-6 outing. The latter would also retire after the first set.

In addition, Rachelle De Guzman failed to notch the win against Hannah Espinosa to the tune of 6-3, 5-7, 2-6.

With the championship series now tied at 1-1, both teams will now face off in a winner-takes-all game three this coming February 15, 10:00 am, at the Olivarez College Tennis courts.

 

Green Spikers boost Final Four chances with crucial Adamson win

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The DLSU Green Spikers continued their renewed resurgence in the 2nd round after beating the Adamson Falcons in 4 sets, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25 and 25-18 last February 12 at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Red Christensen had a superb game with 23 points and 4 blocks while Raymark Woo added 22 points. In addition, team captain Phillip Cerveza added 9 points and 3 blocks.
For Adamson, Michael Sudaria notched 21 points while John Mallapre, Bryan Saraza and Christopher David all scored 10 points apiece.
With this win, the Green Spikers improve to a 7-6 record and puts them on 4th place in the standings. They have a chance to secure a Final Four berth if they win their game against UE this coming February 16, 8:30 am, at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

 

“It’s fantastic” – Coach Stephen Fernandez on his 24-year coaching stint

 

In 1989, a Taekwondo collegiate star takes his move to the coaching ranks for the De La Salle University Green and Lady Jins. After more than two decades of excellence for the Jins, Coach Stephen Fernandez finally called it a day.

“No regrets at all,” quipped the multi-titled head coach of the Jins on his long term head coaching duty in DLSU.

May 31, 2013 marked the official expiration of contract of Coach Pen who stayed in La Salle since his childhood days. Since 1974, Stephen Fernandez possessed the animo in him in his elementary days in La Salle Green Hills (LSGH). After 24 years of head coaching career in DLSU, Coach Pen decided to pass on his coaching duties in DLSU to 10-year assistant Roberto ‘Kitoy’ Cruz.

Huge task ahead

Onto a bigger challenge of his own, Coach Fernandez took over the presidency of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA). His appointment as the highest official of the association became one of his reasons not to close his coaching career in DLSU at two decades and a half.

“There are things I want to do also, things I want to pursue and I have taken a bigger role now in the association,” said Coach Pen as he elaborates that he is now looking at taekwondo on a bigger picture as the lead man of the national association.

As the president of PTA, Fernandez has to look at more Jins aside from those inside the Taft campus of La Salle. He takes the challenge of finally bringing an Olympic gold for the country which he sees as a tough task to handle.

He gave hints that possible national team members that will be fielded may come from DLSU. Coach Stephen though refused to drop names as he does not want to over hype the things to come for the next generation of Jins for the country.

Heart remains bleeding green

As he still serves as a faculty under the Physical Education Department of the University, Coach Pen remains at the back of the team he served for 24 years. He then said “I’m still here to give my ideas, guidance but handling technical matters it will be Coach Kitoy (Cruz) and Dax (Morfe).”

Though stepping down as head coach of the Green and Lady Jins, the pure blooded Lasallian coach will definitely cradle more talents of Taft Avenue. Coach Stephen Fernandez still serves as head coach of De La Salle Santiago Zobel and De La Salle College of St. Benilde.

“I’ll still be around to guide the guys. My heart is still with La Salle definitely,” Coach Stephen Fernandez sealed the promise.

The post-Fernandez era

For the longest time, Coach Pen watched over the Jins enter and go out of collegiate ranks but all god things ends as new beginnings come close. As he steps down of his coaching rank in DLSU, Coach Stephen does not see any change on his long time mentored team except him treading down as head coach.

“I think it is time that Coach Kitoy Cruz gets to this level of being a head coach and I’ve seen the dedication, commitment, and heart,” sentiments of the long time DLSU head coach.

Since Coach Cruz had been with Coach Fernandez for a long time in the national team and in the coaching ranks of DLSU, Coach Stephen safely said that he believes that the system would remain on the team with his longtime assistant taking over.

“Now it’s his (Coach Cruz) time. It’s time to turn over. I don’t want also to hang on to something that later on I might not be able to handle,” Coach Pen humbly stated.

The Jins will also be left with much talent on their backs with new assistants – Coach Dax Morfe and Poomsae world champion JP Sabilo.

A fantastic ride of his life

As he march down out of the picture, Coach Stephen Fernandez could proudly say how fulfilled he is in his 24-year ride.

“It’s been a good ride. I have won titles as a player, as a coach. I have gained everything already. I am satisfied, there’s nothing more I want to fulfill in coaching. I have won every tournament there is to be won. It’s been a good ride to have won these championships not just in the local scene but also in the international frame,” Fernandez ends as the curtains of his DLSU coaching stint close.