ATENEO de Manila caught National University (NU) in its worst form in the first two sets then spoiled its third set fightback with a strong windup to complete a 25-19, 25-13, 25-23 victory on Sunday and move in the threshold of the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Championship at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Lady Eagles sustained their form coming off a knockout match with the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses, dishing out a superb all-around game despite the absence of head coach Tai Bundit and pouncing on every Bulldog error, poor reception and sloppy floor defense to score the surprisingly one-sided, one-hour and 12-minute victory.
“We knew we needed to come out strong for us to get the momentum,” said Ateneo star player Alyssa Valdez, who finished with 20 hits, including 15 attack points, and later took the Conference Most Valuable Player honors.
“Coach Parley guided and helped us while Coach Tai was out,” said Valdez, referring to assistant mentor Parley Tupaz, who took over from Bundit, who had to honor a previous commitment back home in Thailand.
NU did play without guest player and former ace hitter Dindin Manabat, but the rest of the Lady Bulldogs played below par that had Coach Roger Gorayeb shaking his head in frustration over his wards’ failure to step up in the first two sets.
“What’s happening? What’s lacking [in your game]. You need to be confident, especially in reception. If we can’t receive, we can’t get any attack,” Gorayeb said.
The Lady Bulldogs, who swept the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tams in their side of the Final Four of the league sponsored by Shakey’s, rose to the challenge in the third frame, which they controlled with Jaja Santiago finally reasserting her height and reach advantage, and Myla Pablo and young Jasmine Nabor combining for crisp hits.
But after Santiago scored on a quick set for a 16-14 NU lead, the Lady Bulldogs yielded the next two points on service and attacking errors. Still, NU fought back on a Pablo kill and Ateneo’s mishit to regain another two-point lead at 20-18, but Ateneo unleashed a strong finishing kick, taking seven of the last 10 points, capped by Jhoanna Maraguinot’s brutal crosscourt kill that put the Lady Eagles to within a win from wrapping up the championship in the league presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by Mikasa and Accel.
Ateneo, which ruled this conference in Season 9 over UST in sudden death, guns for the clincher on Sunday.
Valdez turned in a near-flawless game in the early going, scoring on both flanks and at the backrow while flashing her superb reading of NU defense with a couple of drop shots off while airborne, the last giving Ateneo a 12-5 lead in the second set.
She committed her first error in the next two plays when her attack from the back sailed long, but that hardly mattered as the Lady Eagles kept pounding on their rivals’ poor reception and errors to cruise to victory.
Kim Gequillana added 11 points for Ateneo and Maraguinot chipped in nine markers, while Amy Ahomiro and Bea de Leon scored five hits apiece with Ahomiro closing out the first two sets with a kill and a block, respectively.
Pablo wound up with 11 markers while skipper Jorelle Singh had eight and Santiago finished with seven points for the Lady Bulldogs, who hope to bounce back strong with Manabat back in the fold next week.
Image credits: Roy Domingo