How will the Ateneo Blue Eagles move forward after the injuries to Geezel Tsunashima and JLo Delos Santos?
In an unfortunate development, the Ateneo Blue Eagles will be without key spikers Geezel Tsunashima and JLo Delos Santos for the rest of the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Tsunashima broke her left leg after a bad landing midway into Set 5 of Ateneo’s opening weekend loss to Adamson last Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena, while Delos Santos suffered a left anterior cruciate ligament tear after a similar bad landing in a tune-up game last February 14.
“Zel underwent surgery a few days ago, she broke the tibia and fibula [on her left leg], but now she’s okay and she started the physiotherapy. But unfortunately, she cannot play anymore this season,” Ateneo head coach Sergio Veloso confirmed to reporters on Wednesday ahead of Ateneo’s 23-25, 19-25, 15-25 loss to the NU Lady Bulldogs.
“JLo, I think tomorrow or the other day tomorrow, she will undergo the surgery because when she landed, she landed over one leg like Geezel…JLo is the same, she landed over her own leg,” he explained.
Losing both spikers will be a major blow to Ateneo’s Season 87 Final Four aspirations, especially with Tsunashima looking like another solid option behind skipper Lyann de Guzman and converted spiker AC Miner.
But on the other hand, Veloso believes that it’s up to the Eagles to keep a “stronger heart and stronger mind” amid these key losses. Moreover, it’s also the chance to step up for Miner, De Guzman, and their rookie pickups such as Alex Montoro and middle blocker Jihan Chuatico.
“What I told the players is that we don’t know God’s purpose, but we know that this is our time to show a strong heart and strong mind…It’s a part of the sport, sometimes you have accidents and in this situation, it’s totally an accident,” he said.
‘Kapit lang kami’
For her part, team captain De Guzman is drawing strength from both Geezel Tsunashim and JLo Delos Santos, with the two being the team’s cheerleaders amid their respective recovery periods.
And while these losses are huge, the captain emphasized that they will still have each other to lean on.
“Mahirap kasi mga key players din namin ‘yung nawala, but ayun nga, binibigyan din nila kami ng lakas na lumaban hanggang dulo kasi nandyan pa rin naman sila to support us,” De Guzman said in a follow-up interview following their loss to the Lady Bulldogs.
“Syempre siguro emotionally alam naman natin na mahirap talaga, pero ‘yun nga ‘yung sabi namin sa isa’t isa na magkapitan lang talaga kami, kasi accident talaga. Kapit lang sa isa’t isa, ‘yun nga andon ‘yung mga teammates namin to cheer us up.”
The Eagles are on a 0-2 start for Season 87, and De Guzman believes that consistency is all that’s needed to finally get an elusive win. Moreover, she noted that these losses have their share of positives to build on.
Ateneo held a 2-0 lead early against the Lady Falcons and managed to keep Set 1 tight against the Lady Bulldogs before running out of steam.
“Siguro nun nag-five sets ‘tas okay ‘yung laro namin ngayon, syempre nakakatulong ‘yun samin ng sobra, lalo sa mga rookies namin, lalo na naglalaro sila ngayon para ma-boost ‘yung confidence nila,” De Guzman said.
And with Geezel Tsunashima and JLo Delos Santos sitting out the rest of Season 87, De Guzman bared that this season will now be dedicated to their fallen sisters. It’s easier said than done, but again, they will attempt to turn these losses into motivation.
In fact, the Eagles were quick to honor the pair, even writing their nicknames “Zel” and “JLo” on their game-worn sneakers. Mitzi Pacia, meanwhile, also wore a wrist tape bearing the two players’ nicknames.
“Syempre sabi nga namin, ide-dedicate namin ‘tong game namin sa kanilang dalawa. Lalo kaming seniors nila AC, Taks [Fujimoto], close talaga kami kay JLo and Zel kaya para sa kanila ‘tong season na ‘to,” De Guzman said.
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.