Their weaknesses brought to light, Ateneo and National University will try to amplify each other’s strengths and seize the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference title in a winner-take-all finale Sunday at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Eagles have a gem of a hitter in Alyssa Valdez, who powered them to victory in the best-of-three series opener two weeks back, while the Lady Bulldogs evened up matters and forced a rubber match with siblings Dindin Santiago-Manabat and Jaja Santiago doing heavy damage in Game 2.
NU coach Roger Gorayeb knows the key would be to put the clamps on Valdez, whom the Lady Bulldogs contained to just nine hits in a one-sided 25-22, 25-17, 25-17 win last week.
Gorayeb, with veterans Myla Pablo, Jorelle Singh, Aiko Urdas and Rubie de Leon in his rotation, is also certain that the Lady Eagles will show up with more spunk in the final match of the conference presented by PLDT Home Ultera.
“This will be anybody’s game and I expect both teams to go all-out not only for the championships, but also for the fans,” said Gorayeb, who lost to NU in the 2013 finals while handling Ateneo.
Over at Ateneo, coach Parley Tupaz believes that proper execution will redeem the Lady Eagles from that harrowing second game loss.
“There’ll be no changes as far as our game plan is concerned. We just have to execute well,” said Tupaz, who pinched-hit for head coach Tai Bundit in the first two games.
There was no assurance whether Bundit, who went home to Thailand to honor a previous commitment, will be back in today’s sudden-death.
Backing up Valdez, the conference MVP, is a resilient crew of hitters starring Kim Gequillana, Amy Ahomiro, Jhoanna Maraguinot, Bea De Leon and setter Gizelle Tan.
“They jumped the gun on us early in Game 2 and we never recovered,” said Tupaz. “We need to play with more energy.”
The Lady Bulldogs left the predominantly Ateneo crowd disappointed with a superb all-around performance that led to victory in straight sets.
Manabat, who skipped Game 1, came through with five blocks that helped bottle up Ateneo’s forays anchored on Valdez.