Kat Tolentino and Maddie Madayag. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
After three-time UAAP MVP Alyssa Valdez graduated, there were doubts whether Ateneo would be as dominant as it was again.
But for two straight seasons the girls in blue-and-white have continued to defy expectations and continued to waltz their way to the Final Four.
First it was Jio Morado who led the tempo in Season 79 when the Lady Eagles finished with the best record in the eliminations but bowed in the finals against La Salle.
Then Season 80 rolled along and it was under the leadership of Maddie Madayag and Kat Tolentino that Ateneo once more got their ticket to the big dance.
Madayag said she’s aware of the doubters that predicted Ateneo won’t go anywhere without Morado’s leadership, yet the Lady Eagles are back on their ninth straight semifinals after turning back University of Santo Tomas in five sets, 25-22, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 15-9, last Wednesday.
“We don’t really play for other people, we play for our school, we play for ourselves,” said Madayag. “We proved them wrong, sorry to all of you because you all doubted us. Watch this season and see how we play.”
Madayag was given the captainship for Season 80 joining former vaunted Lady Eagle captains like Valdez, Morado, Jem Ferrer, Grethcen Ho, and Fille Cainglet.
Madayag, however, wasn’t alone in leading the Lady Eagles as she had plenty of help from her vice captain Tolentino in both the intangibles and the tangibles.
Both Madayag and Tolentino are vocal figures on the floor for the Lady Eagles but it’s the latter who’ve been putting up the numbers for Ateneo.
Tolentino has averaged 20 points, while Madayag chipped in an average of 10 a game in the last three of the Lady Eagles’ five straight win.
“We’ve all had our doubts, and I think just with this team we’re super close and we really trust each other and it’s okay if others maybe doubt us,” said Tolentino. “As long as we believe in each other, and as long as we believe in coach Tai [Bundit], and the system there’s no stopping us.”