UAAP Volleyball: Ateneo shocks NU, forces decider; Bulldogs enter men’s Finals

GAMES ON SATURDAY (March 1) at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum

2:00PM (1) NU vs. (2) Ateneo (M-Finals—Game 1)

4:00 PM (2) NU vs. (3) Ateneo (W-Stepladder Semis—Sudden-Death)*

*Winner faces (1) DLSU in Finals

Heart-Strong.

This has been the credo of the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Lady Eagles since Head Coach Anusorn Bundit took over the reins from Roger Gorayeb this season and it somehow catapulted the Katipuneras to a pulsating 25-17, 12-25, 31-29, 28-26 victory over the second seeded National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs in the stepladder semifinals of the ongoing UAAP Season 76 women’s volleyball competition at the jam-packed San Juan Arena.

Earlier, the defending titlists NU men’s squad made short work of the Adamson Falcons 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 to advance to the Finals against the Ateneo Blue Spikers behind blistering performances from Rueben Inaudito (14 points), Edwin Tolentino (12) and Jan Paglinawan (11). Reigning Finals MVP Peter Den Mar Torres added eight points as the Bulldogs totally outclassed the heady Falcons in a little over an hour.

Michael Sudaria and Bryan Saraza paced Adamson with eight points apiece.

It will be the first time these two schools will be showcased in the same postseason twinbill in the history of the league this coming Saturday (March 1st) as Ateneo and NU begin their Best-Of-Three titular series and their distaff counterparts contest the right to face undefeated reigning queens De La Salle University (DLSU) in the finale.

But while the Bulldogs’ triumph over Adamson was what many expected, the season-extending win by the Lady Eagles had everyone on the edge of their seats.

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Ateneo started out strong with skipper Alyssa Valdez and “converted” utility-spiker Michelle Morente doing the early damage against a seemingly sluggish NU side; allowing the Lady Eagles to march to a first set victory. But the Lady Bulldogs quickly regrouped in the second canto and Ateneo never got anything going as the pagodas known as Din-Din and Jaja Santiago just began tearing apart the shorter Lady Eagles’ net defenses en route to the easy win.

The third set, however, was literally an exchange of points and errors as no team could build a lead bigger than three points.

That was the lead NU erected—at set point, 24-21 forcing Bundit to call a ceasefire. After what appeared to be a set of simple instructions, Ateneo came out capitalizing on Valdez’s services and knotted the count up using a 3-0 run. The Lady Bulldogs attained set point several times over and looked poised to snatch the third after getting a 29-28 edge. It would be their last lead of the set as a hitting error by winger Myla Pablo tied things up anew.

Then came what many—including myself—are calling the “Save of the Season” as newly crowned league Best Digger Den-Den Lazaro barely clawed her way to a dump ball from Din-Din Santiago and “pancaked” the ball to keep the rally alive. An errant set by NU playmaker Ivy Perez sent the ball towards a waiting Amy Ahomiro who cashed in on the unexpected gift.

Din-Din hit a down-the-line spike into the antennae on the next rally to award the third set to the Lady Eagles as the deafening cheers of the pro-Ateneo crowd practically drowned out referee Nestor Bello’s final whistle.

In the fourth set, the Lady Bulldogs looked to pull away again like they did in the second set. But this time Ateneo found its way back earlier, thanks to the newfound aggression coming from fourth-year opener Ella de Jesus and more exceptional floor defense coming from Lazaro and Morente—whose floor patrolling skills have been quite underrated all season long.

De Jesus proved to be the X-Factor in Ateneo’s climb in the fourth as she continually challenged the tall frontliners of the Lady Bulldogs, despite the fact that she may be giving up a lot in terms of height. The Lady Eagles once again fought back from being double set point down 24-22 to extend the set once more.

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The lady referred to as the “Ellavator” scored Ateneo’s final two points to keep the Lady Eagles’ hopes of setting up a third consecutive championship showdown against the Lady Spikers alive should they prevail anew against NU on Saturday.

Valdez led all scorers with a whopping 29 points, backstopped by de Jesus’ sixteen markers (and Player of the Game recognition for her poise down the stretch) along with twelve more coming from the freshman Morente. Din-Din and Jaja combined for thirty points but couldn’t get the much needed offensive assistance from their usually reliable teammates. Outgoing ultra-senior Mina Aganon contributed nine points, while Season 75 Rookie of the Year Aiko “The Supernatural” Urdas added eight. Pablo could only account for five points and was barely used in the fourth set as NU Head Coach Edjet Mabbayad opted to utilize defensive specialist Rizza Mandapat for the Lady Bulldogs’ stretch run.

Lazaro played as if it were her swansong.

The fourth year libero came up with one defensive gem after another to the tune of thirteen excellent digs and seven excellent receptions. However, none could match that miracle pancake that indirectly defined the outcome of the match during that crucial juncture of the third set.

NU’s net defense was equally stellar; almost doubling the Lady Eagles’ team total, 11-5 in block points. The Santiagos combined for five of those while Urdas added three block points of her own.

It was an off-day of sorts, though, for NU libero Fatima General as she couldn’t be a major factor on the reception end; where the entire team struggled all throughout. You know you’re in trouble when the one who registered the most digs on your team is your 6'2" quicker as Din-Din tried valiantly to fill in for General’s unusual inefficiency.

But more than Lazaro’s heroics, it was the steady orchestrating by rookie setter Jia Morado that kept Ateneo’s head above water throughout the match and it was also her innate ability to find the best targets under duress that had the Lady Eagles maintaining their composure when it mattered most. Morado’s 29 excellent sets could just as well have translated to the 29 total points churned in by their captain. However, it was total team effort that led to the win and Bundit (known more affectionately to the team as “Coach Tai”) will need to build on this achievement against the stung Lady Bulldogs on Saturday.

“Heart-Strong” is a new concept for many, though, and I needed the intervention of perhaps the only former Lady Eagle who could not only see through Coach Tai’s vast experience, but lay down a profound interpretation on the battlecry.

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“Your heart won’t fail you. If your heart is strong, it’s in a good place. And so are you,” explains the inimitable former Ateneo skipper and coach Charo Soriano. “(It’s) very simple, yet amazingly profound. (Ang) galing ni Coach (Tai)!”

Another former Lady Eagle put it in a more distinct way: “Heart-Strong—Perseverance, persistence, resilience… That’s what I think,” according to Gretchen Ho.

Whatever made the volleyball gods come together and bestow the win on Ateneo, the OBF faithful had better pray it occurs again at the Big Dome this Saturday because NU is going to come back with a vengeance. The Lady Bulldogs have not dropped two successive matches all season long and you can bet that they will do everything in their power to avoid it from happening now when all they have worked very hard for is now on the line.

And while all this takes place, the Lady Spikers continue to be well rested—in both mind and body.

The double NU-Ateneo tiff will surely be the most watched sporting event of the weekend and will probably trend on Twitter.

So I end with the usual set of rhetorical questions: Can the Lady Eagles summon their Heart-Strong abilities and knock NU out for good? Can Lazaro mop the Araneta Coliseum floor with her uniform anew? Can Jaja help give Din-Din half of what is supposed to be the best graduation gift a sister can give to her ate? Can Pablo, Urdas and Aganon step it up? Can General forget about the debacle at SJA and create a new legacy in the Big Dome? Will we see Coach Tai jumping around like a kid on Christmas again?

I’m personally looking forward to the Marck Espejo-Rueben Inaudito clash and see if Peter Torres can go overboard against Rex Intal.

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Ah, the climax of the college volleyball season is truly upon us.

BOX SCORES:

(1) NU def. (4) Adamson (M-Semis), 25-19, 25-19, 25-18

NU—Inaudito 14, Tolentino 13, Paglinawan 11, Torres 8, Baysac 3, Mangulabnan 2, Ismail 2, Talipan 1, Dizon (L) 0, Tekiko 0.

AdU—Saraza 8, Sudaria 8, Consunji 4, Ramirez 4, Mallapre 3, David 2, Melgar (L) 0, Valdez 0, Arante 0, Limpag 0.

(3) Ateneo def. (2) NU (W-Stepladder Semis), 25-17, 12-25, 31-29, 28-26

AdMU—A. Valdez 29, de Jesus 16, Morente 12, Ahomiro 5, Patnongon 4, Morado 1, Lazaro (L) 0, Tajima 0.

NU—J. Santiago 17, D. Santiago 13, Aganon 9, Urdas 8, Pablo 5, Perez 3, General (L) 0, G. Valdez 0, Mandapat 0.

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com