Statement game
If there was any doubt that it’s open season in the hunt for the UAAP women’s volleyball crown, Adamson University blew away every shred of it with a huge upset Saturday.
The Lady Falcons pounced on a vulnerable-looking La Salle to hammer out their biggest win of the season, 25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 25-22, at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
If they wanted to call attention to their renewed strength, The Lady Falcons did it with a screaming announcement: Include us in Final Four discussions henceforth.
Former La Salle stalwart Eli Soyud scored 18 points including three blocks and two aces to power Adamson, but it was team captain Jema Galanza who knocked in the match-clincher after the Lady Falcons wasted two match points.
Coach Airess Padda, tasked to whip the Lady Falcons into the championship shape they once were, credited the win to their renewed confidence and aggressiveness.
Padda likened the team’s resolve to a scene in the movie Black Panther, where the women stood up for their king in what she termed a “bad-ass” attitude.
“They’re so bad-ass. I mean they’re just empowering so I just told them to embody that so we can use it,” said Padda. “Man, today I was so proud of them. Today it was not about the name on your back, it was about this (pointing to her heart).”
Far Eastern University brushed off winless University of the East, 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 25-22, in the other game, adding to the woes of the Lady Warriors.
The Lady Tamaraws tied Ateneo at third with a 3-2 card while winless UE, which was playing its first game since head coach Francis Vicente took a leave from the school, dropped its sixth straight game.
Former Lady Warrior Celine Domingo added salt to UE’s wound by pushing FEU to a 23-19 lead after thwarting a kill by Mary Ann Mendrez.
She then followed it up with an off-balanced kill that gave the Lady Tamaraws their first match point at 24-21.
“It’s a good comeback because we lost two straight before this one, so hopefully we can sustain this the whole season,” said coach George Pascua in Filipino.
