The Ateneo Lady Eagles walked down the padded court of San Juan Arena with the swagger only second-straight UAAP champions possess.
A beaming Alyssa Valdez once again was tasked to lead her crew against the Lady Bulldogs of National University.
But the undefeated Lady Eagles got a first set shocker as the Lady Bulldogs pounced on the hapless Ateneo, 25-15.
READ: Ateneo repulses NU to stay unscathed in V-League; Valdez drops 28
“We saw our flaws in the first set,” Valdez said. “We had a difficulty with our blocking and we couldn’t score on our offensive sets.”
Ateneo, though, found its swagger back in the following three sets and foiled any chance of an upset for NU.
Valdez and Bea De Leon came up in the clutch to break the 23-23 tie in the fourth set, and led Ateneo to a 15-25, 25-29, 25-21, 25-23 victory that sealed the Blue Eagles hold of the no.1 spot in the final four.
“It felt like the UAAP,” Valdez said panting and catching up her breath right after the game as she held a pizza box on her lap. “Every round it became a challenge.”