UAAP Women’s volleyball: Ateneo and La Salle dish out a classic
Fittingly, it went the distance.
This weekend marks the end of the first round of battles in the ongoing UAAP Season 75 volleyball competition and while all eyes turned towards the battle of the top teams in the women’s standings, the San Juan Arena had an intense playoff atmosphere. On paper, it was merely the penultimate game of the first round, with the second ranked De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers taking on undefeated top seed Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Lady Eagles.
After the smoke cleared from the shellacking inflicted by the National University over the University of the Philippines, the crowd buzz level began its crescendo.
Ace sportscaster Boom Gonzales, working the game for ABS-CBN Sports, set the scene succinctly for the captive television audience and then veteran venue announcer Rolly Manlapaz transformed the player introductions to one akin to a heavyweight title fight. Those elements ushered in the most anticipated clash of the season so far.
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Not only was The Arena in Standing Room Only (SRO) state, but celebrities from the sports and entertainment world were also among those assembled to witness another version of the most heated rivalry in all of college sports. People like Rico Blanco, John Pratts, and Sam Milby as well as basketball rivals Jerron Teng and Kiefer Ravena along with former volleybelle greats like Misha Quimpo, Stephanie Mercado, Manilla Santos and Michelle Datuin made this particular game a special one; like a sudden-death match. It was a culmination of a new chapter in the two schools' legendary sports feud.
Ateneo came into the tiff owning a 6-0 record representing their best start in their women’s volleyball history. Their roster of five ultra-seniors and wunderkind Alyssa Valdez—arguably the best open hitter in the country today—had an opportunity to scalp the defending champions DLSU (5-1) and earn only their second victory against the Lady Spikers in five years. For La Salle, it was a chance to extend their league-leading winning streak to six, after losing a heart-breaker to 2011 finalist UST in the season opener. DLSU boasts of the most lethal combination of players in the land with reigning MVP and Team Captain Abigail Maraño along with Michele Gumabao, Ara Galang and freshman sensation Mika Reyes. Well, as the usual match-up between these two proud schools go, all stats drifted out the window. School spirit took over.
FIRST SET: DLSU raced to an early four point advantage behind Gumabao, Reyes and Maraño. But a series of errors by the Lady Spikers coupled with Lady Eagles star setter Jem Ferrer distributing flawlessly to the power duo of Valdez and Fille Cainglet, Ateneo took a six point lead until the set's twilight. AdMU was still up 23-19 when DLSU’s reserve setter Kim Fajardo sparked a furious rally that saw them get to set-point first at 24-23. Ateneo fended off three consecutive La Salle set-points through their amazing floor defense and eventually pulled the rug from under the Lady Spikers. This set the tone for the rest of the match.
1st—AdMU 28-26 DLSU
SECOND SET: Surprisingly, DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus stuck with starting two of the bench players that saw action in the first set—and kept it close. Fajardo and Cyd Demecillo kept in step with the Ateneo attacks but despite the gung-ho nature of the second, it appeared that the Lady Eagles showed more aggression courtesy of Valdez, Cainglet and now joined by skipper Dzi Gervacio. La Salle struggled to generate offense, especially from Maraño who seemed to be too quiet, both on the court and verbally. But Gumabao picked up the cudgels and began leading by example, towing Galang into the mix. AdMU, however showed great poise in the second set and despite more experiments in the line-up from Coach Ramil, the Lady Eagles easily handled the opposition. It now seemed that Ateneo was going to make short work of the defending champions, much like NU against UP earlier.
2nd—AdMU 25-21 DLSU
THIRD SET: It's a mystery what it is about teams handled by Roger Gorayeb (of Ateneo), but somehow, his charges take a small breather during the third set. This has happened with his former NCAA squad San Sebastian—romping to a 2-set lead and then somehow either squander the third or allow their opponents to make it interesting. This was also the case during Ateneo’s opening day match against the Far Eastern University (FEU), where the Lady Eagles won the first two sets and then tie a UAAP record for fewest points scored in a set after the third canto (6-25). Against La Salle, the Lady Eagles could not afford to be flirting with that kind of a disaster—after all, Ateneo had played two straight five-setters previous to this match. Well, it happened again. The bad part of this third set debacle is it allowed La Salle’s silent guns to use the lacklustre performance of AdMU to get warmed up—for good. Maraño, Galang and now the more confident defense of Reyes began clicking and Ateneo’s floor coverage all but dissipated. Another vacation at a crucial juncture of the match. La Salle was back.
3rd—DLSU 25-13 AdMU
FOURTH SET: By this time, both squads were already feeling the pinch of their ancient rivalry. Although they are allegedly friends off the court, Ateneo began getting frustrated when Reyes began controlling their access to the net. Reyes’ length and superb timing began altering Ferrer’s decisions—even in the open hits. But when Ateneo scored, they let La Salle know that they weren’t doing a good job; letting out an occasional shriek, giving an occasional stare-down and—in the case of Cainglet—an occasional celebration jig. This was closer than the already very tight first set. It was a fierce exchange. It was also at this point when Reyes and Cainglet began their own version of gamesmanship, exchanging points—and exchanging glares. However, as La Salle led 23-21, the horror happened: Cainglet rolled her right ankle in the middle of a rally and had to be carried off the court. The diagnosis was grim: a major sprain. She was lost for the match. This also effectively ended Ateneo’s rally aspirations and La Salle sent Ateneo to its third straight five-setter in a little over a week.
4th--DLSU 25-21 AdMU
FIFTH SET: La Salle immediately scored the first three points in the decider. That must have been deflating for an opponent that had just lost one of its key players. But when reserve utility spiker Ella de Jesus nailed back to back connections, it seemed that she was starting the “Let’s Win It For Fille” Movement. However, the Lady Spikers’ firepower began taking over as Galang and Maraño were no longer warming up—they were piping hot. Reyes’ presence continued changing shots at the net and Gumabao willed her teammates to climb another level. Through it all Fajardo kept starter Mika Esperanza glued to the bench as she orchestrated a masterful execution of the offense and her serves were also invaluable. Despite all the disadvantages facing the Lady Eagles, Valdez, Gervacio and de Jesus kept the pressure on DLSU to win the match, because Ateneo was not going to give it to them. Then La Salle began committing unforced errors again as Valdez carried the fight against Reyes’ net domination. In the end, DLSU won the match and dealt Ateneo its first loss of the season while extending their own winning streak to six straight.
5th--DLSU 15-13 AdMU
Valdez led all scorers with 23 points while Cainglet contributed 16 before her unfortunate and premature departure for Ateneo. Ara Galang collected 18 points—most of them in the latter two sets--for DLSU. Mika Reyes added 16 (with three blocks) while Michele Gumabao and Abigail Maraño had 12 and 10, respectively. Both teams finish their first round campaign with an identical 6-1 card.
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It wasn’t the result of this game that made it special—it was the process in which DLSU showed its championship swag. It was the way Ateneo showed that they were not intimidated by a squad that had beat them soundly over five years—except once: Game One of last season’s title series. It was the way the crowd turned a simple elimination round volleyball match into one of the globally trending topics on Twitter.
If these two schools do meet in the Finals, let’s consider their first round match-up as Game One.
The biggest winner here is Philippine volleyball. In the midst of the PBA Finals and Gilas II’s endeavours in Dubai, for one long afternoon in January, Ateneo and La Salle stole the attention of the sports world once again.
It was a classic. Boom said it right: "You cannot fabricate this kind of stuff."
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate)
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
