A about this time last year, reigning UAAP women’s volleyball champion Ateneo was struggling, trying to get into the Final Four and attempting to master coach Tai Bundit’s motivational spikes of staying “heartstrong” and playing “happy, happy.”
At just the right time, the Lady Eagles caught fire and went on to stop Adamson, National University and De La Salle’s thrice-to-beat playoff advantage because of a sweep of the classification round.
The story seems different this year: Of late, Ateneo has collected 11 straight wins and is setting its sights on the loftiest if not strongest position it can be in come playoff time.
Like most teams on a tear, there’s an understandable refusal to talk about a sweep unless it’s already achieved.
But given how hungry La Salle is to reclaim the throne it held for three years and how close the Lady Spikers were in stopping the ladies from Loyola in the first round, Ateneo wants to stay as far away from its arch rival until its time to really go eyeball to eyeball with them.
The race is really for the remaining two playoff slots. Whether there’s a stepladder postseason or the usual top two teams battling the third and fourth placers, two other teams will play after the eliminations.
After Wednesday’s games, there’s a logjam for the last two slots. University of Santo Tomas’ four-game winning run was snapped by the Lady Spikers and is for now a game ahead of three teams tied at 4-6: Adamson, National University and the University of the Philippines.
Far Eastern University is also in the hunt at 4-7. It played a strong three sets against Ateneo last Wednesday but could not finish any of them in front. The Lady Tamaraws even had leads of five points and dictated the tempo for the most part of the sets. Against the defending champions, it’s not enough to rattle them: You have to show them you can close them out.
The turnaround of the season is the UP Lady Fighting Maroons. There have been good years in the past for the State University’s volleyball program but of late, there have been more seasons where wins would come in trickles. This season, coach Jerry Yee has whipped together a fighting crew that isn’t afraid to mix it up with the top teams.
UP had a sterling game against Ateneo in the first round that went to five sets. The Diliman ladies had many chances to pull one against their Katipunan Avenue neighbors but Ateneo has simply learned to play through adversity. It is always good when UP teams do well in any sport in the UAAP because it brings to the games members of their huge community.
Ateneo and La Salle are already safe in the top two playoff spots. The rest of the field will have to play over and beyond their current levels to make it to the next round. They may have to also start believing a little more that moving forward in sports also begins with being “heartstrong.”
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