MANILA, Philippines—Champions at last.
Ateneo de Manila finally ended its 35-year volleyball title drought as the Lady Eagles survived the Adamson Lady Falcons, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11, Tuesday to capture their first Shakey’s V-League plum before a boisterous crowd at the Arena in San Juan.
“This is what we’re waiting for to give back to our school,” said the teary-eyed former Ateneo star turned coach Charo Soriano, whose team took the crown via sweep, 2-0.
“It’s such an honor for us…after how many decades we were able to give this (title) to them,” added the 25-year-old Soriano, who also became the youngest mentor to steer a squad to win the title.
The Lady Eagles drew stellar performances from its guest player Alyssa Valdez and Thai import Kesinee Lithawat, who had 24 points each.
Solid all-conference long, Valdez and Lithawat took turns at the offensive end while also providing Ateneo with a sturdy defensive wall.
Raring to make history, the Lady Eagles raced to a 5-0 spurt to lead, 10-5.
The Lady Falcons managed to pull to within three several times but that was as close as they could get.
With Valdez, a UST high school recruit, and two-time MVP Lithwawat, Ateneo was just too much to handle.
Valdez fired timely hits in the crucial stretches of the deciding set while Lithawat sealed the deal with a championship-clinching tip as the Adamson side crumbled to the floor.
Power spiker Nene Bautista did all she could to wind up with 28 points, 24 of them from kills.
Adamson looked sharp in the opening set but had futile offensive options when its best player Bautista was in the backline as its skipper Angela Benting struggled with eight measly points.
Most Improved Player Fille Cainglet also gave Ateneo another scoring option as she finished with 18 points.
The Lady Eagles’ team captain, Jem Ferrer, bagged the finals MVP award.
Meanwhile, University of St. La Salle swept National University in the battle of third following a 25-17, 25-21, 25-23, game two win.
Ateneo took game one of the best-of-three finals, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20.