Lady Eagles rout Lady Bulldogs to draw first blood in V-League finale
MANILA, Philippines — Exuding championship poise, Ateneo blanked National University, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23, Thursday in game one of the 10th Shakey’s V-League First Conference best-of-three finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Lady Eagles came out blistering in the first set then went out with the same intensity, dominating the Lady Bulldogs from start to finish.
“Maganda laro ng halos lahat eh. Wala akong masabi,” said head coach Roger Gorayeb.
Guest players Rachel Ann Daquis and Jeng Bualee each churned out 14 points while the rest of the Lady Eagles contributed significant digits, including rarely used Amy Ahomiro, who had 6.
“They played with a championship heart. I’ve been telling them, ‘You don’t go here to play, you go here to win,'” said Gorayeb.
While the Lady Bulldogs seemed to have woken up after the Lady Eagles’ first set beating, they still didn’t manage to seize control of the match.
NU last held the lead at 13-12 on a point by Carmina Aganon in the third set, but Daquis pulled one back and Ateneo cruised from then on.
Jeng Bualee put the Lady Eagles at match point with a booming spike, 24-19, but they allowed the Lady Bulldogs to score the next four before Daquis put a period with a kill, off the block.
Ateneo dominated all game with Alyssa Valdez riding the bench for most of the time, only checking in late in the game. She had 6.
But whether Ateneo’s star, who’s nursing a shoulder injury, will be a hundred percent in game two of the finals set on Sunday at the same venue, Gorayeb preferred to keep it under wraps.
“This is not just Alyssa’s team. This is Ateneo’s team. Siyempre makakatulong sya pero markado yan,” said Gorayeb.
The league’s first conference MVP Dindin Santiago, meanwhile, had a disappointing performance with just seven points. Aiko Urdas and Myla Pablo led the Lady Eagles with 9 and 8, in that order.
“Hindi talaga naging maganda ang reception namin. Kaya nahirapan kami ngayon,” said NU head coach Edjet Mabbayad.
