INQUIRER Sports

ADAMSON UNIVERSITY’S Shakey’s V-League championship-winning crew will be back for a stab at back-to-back crowns when the second conference of the league’s fifth season takes off in October.

“For sure, our team will be intact,” Lady Falcons coach Minerva Dulce Pante said a day after bagging the crown with a sweep of the best-of-three finals series against the Ateneo Lady Eagles Friday at The Arena in San Juan.

“And we will be ready for whatever challenge the other teams will pose for us”.

Aside from perennial powerhouses San Sebastian, Far Eastern and Lyceum, the Lady Falcons will need to overcome University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle University -- that is if the two former V-League champions enter the tournament once again, after skipping the first conference.

For now, though, Pante wants the Lady Falcons to savor their victory and take a well-deserved break. “I’m proud of them. They deserve the rest. After all, we’ve been playing non-stop over the past few months”.

Despite winning their first nine games, the Adamson coach thinks her team, known for its tough-as-nails floor defense, peaked just in time for the V-League championship duel with Ateneo, which pulled off a pair of come-from-behind victories to reach the finals.

Pante said the turning point of their campaign came in the straight-set loss to San Sebastian, 25-22, 25-19, 25-16, last May 3 that prevented them from sweeping the eliminations.

“That loss allowed us to take a step back and evaluate our performances. It made us stronger,” she said.

From another stunning setback at the hands of Lyceum that stalled their finals bid, the Lady Falcons responded by unleashing their finest game of the tournament in beating San Sebastian, 25-17, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21 in a knockout match for the last championship berth.