THE stars won’t be out today at the Mall of Asia Arena when Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle clash for the first time in Season 79 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) volleyball tournament.
Instead, according to the coaches of both teams, teamwork or chemistry would come into play for the front-running teams, which have won five of their six matches this season.
The match is set at 4 p.m., with playmakers Kim Fajardo of the reigning champion Lady Spikers and Jia Morado of the Lady Eagles talking center stage.
“It’s a battle without star players,” said Ateneo Assistant Coach Sherwin Meneses, speaking in behalf of Head Coach Tai Bundit. “It’s not about one or two players, it will be a clash between all players from each teams. The team that has a better teamwork will win this big game.”
Two-time Most Valuable Player Alyssa Valdez is no longer around for Ateneo, and so are Amy Ahomiro and Mae Tajima. De La Salle won’t be parading anymore former league MVP Galang, Mika Reyes, Carol Cerveza, Cyd Demecillo and Mika Esperanza in the marquee matchup between the most successful UAAP volleyball teams in the last decade.
“It’s all about the system, even if we lost our key players,” De La Salle Head Coach Ramil de Jesus said. “As long as you still have the setters who run the system, it will remain. Kim Fajardo is still with us, Jia Morado is there for Ateneo, so it will just depend on the other players, their service and receive and whoever can make better plays.”
Fajardo vowed to lead a De La Salle side that has Kianna Dy, Majoy Baron and libero Dawn Macandili as holdovers from last season’s champion squad.
“Ateneo and De La Salle is all about pride. That’s why we don’t want to lose this because of our school pride,” said Fajardo, who trails Morado in the best setter race with 226 running sets, 168 still sets and six faults for 400 attempts.
“I really have to stand out in leading my team because I am the eldest and most experienced member of the team, so I really need to lead them, and as of now I am also ready to try other things just to lift my team to a higher spot,” Fajardo added.
Morado downplayed the rivalry and said “it’s just another match and the other teams are equally strong”.
“Kim is one of the people I look up to as a setter,” said Morado, who has, so far, booked 254 running sets, 217 still sets and five faults for a total of 476 attempts. “But volleyball is a team sport, so it’s not just her [working], it’s the entire La Salle team. Same goes for us, it’s not just me, it’s going to be all of us.”
Spiker Jho Maraguinot is expected to play a big role as she tries to duplicate Valdez’s power.
Bea de Leon, Michelle Morente, Kat Tolentino and Maddie Madayag are the other key players for Ateneo.
Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas clash in the day’s other women’s match at 2 p.m.