Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
They may have gone through rough patches this season, but defending champion La Salle and fierce rival Ateneo are still expected to light up fireworks anew when the two fabled foes face off Saturday in the UAAP women’s volleyball at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Bea de Leon, the Lady Eagles’ leader, called the match another episode of their “classic” rivalry.
“I think it’s gonna be a classic,” said the prolific middle blocker. “But it’s anyone’s game and you can’t tell who’s got the edge.”
Ateneo setter Deanna Wong said she was taking the match as a gauge to see if she has what it takes to fill in for Jia Morado, who opted to skip her final year of eligibility.
“We still have enough time to prepare and scout,” said Wong. “We just take it as challenge and we all need to work as a team.”
Ateneo will enter the game with a four-game winning streak which somehow erased its 0-2 start. The Lady Spikers, meanwhile, are coming off a shock defeat to erstwhile doormat team Adamson early this week.
That loss prompted La Salle’s coach Ramil de Jesus to describe their game as “barangay-level.”
Meanwhile, Far Eastern University will take on floundering University of Santo Tomas in the other match.
The Lady Tamaraws created their own splash when they dealt the NU Lady Bulldogs their first defeat of the season, 25-22, 25-27, 25-13, 25-20, Wednesday night.
The win practically rewrote the championship discussion that in the preseason mainly included the Lady Eagles and the Lady Spikers.
But the Tigresses, who lost to the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, can’t be discounted in the 2 p.m. match, especially with current top scorer Cherry Rondina at the helm.
UST can further complicate matters going into the second round of eliminations with a win over FEU. But the Tigresses need to do a lot more than they did in losing to UP (31-33, 25-23, 25-16, 25-12) recently.