The Arellano University Lady Chiefs scored the biggest win of the 11th season’s first conference of the Shakey’s V-League to date by trouncing UAAP champion Ateneo last weekend.
The Lady Chiefs are now undefeated in three starts and is at the top of the standings after stopping College of St. Benilde last Thursday in straight sets.
Not unaccustomed to pressure-packed competition, Arellano was runner-up to NCAA champion University of Perpetual Help last season.
Coach Robert Javier revealed that they thoroughly prepared for Ateneo.
Aside from marking UAAP MVP Alyssa Valdez, he wanted his players to contain the other Ateneo scorers as well.
The result was a cardiac game that was undecided until the very end. The Lady Chiefs kept their poise and survived Ateneo’s fifth-set comeback.
“Siguro, yung confidence namin (Maybe, it’s our confidence),” explained Javier when I asked him what contributed to the team’s great start in the tournament.
The former setter for National University was getting maximum dividends from stars like Danna Henson, CJ Rosario, Elaine Sagun, Menchie Tubiera, setter Angelica Legacion and libero Eunice Galang.
A reliable bench that features Jovielyn Prado (who burned CSB repeatedly in the second set of their straight-sets win) and guest players Eleanor Sierra and Ronerry De La Cruz can come in at any time to keep the Arellano game in sync while the starters get a break.
The Lady Chiefs may not be as precise or smooth as Adamson or University of Santo Tomas. They may not have explosive players like the National University Lady Bulldogs. But they play with so much energy and desire that their few inconsistencies are kept in check.
Henson has the lightest of frames but her power and ability to adjust her attacks have been the backbone of the Arellano run.
She had 14 points against Southwestern U, 14 again versus Ateneo and 13 last Thursday against St. Benilde.
Opponents find it difficult to block her not because they are shocked that this wisp of a girl can knock down heavyweight spikes.
It’s really her uncanny ability to penetrate single and double blocks that have produced the points for the Lady Chiefs.
How far can the Lady Chiefs go? Are they the new darlings of the tournament in the same way as Rachel Anne Dacquis’ FEU Lady Tamaraws, the Lady Eagles and the UST unit that had Mary Jean Balse?
Through the years, the Shakey’s V-League has been able to draw the best from teams that were sometimes also-rans in their collegiate leagues.
The constant high-level competition from other collegiate leagues as well as from the provinces provide excellent seasoning that makes teams mature and play better.
Arellano is bound for the next round, and if injuries spare them and the rest of the field takes them too lightly, they could be the next crowd favorite of the league.