Alyssa, Mika, other stars bid UAAP goodbye Ateneo vs La Salle: No-tomorrow duel

MANILA, Philippines - A handful players from both Ateneo and La Salle will bid the UAAP goodbye today when the exciting title duel between the two fierce rivals come to a close at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

For these graduating players, there’s no tomorrow.

Alyssa Valdez, two-time champion and the three-time MVP, will play her final game for Ateneo and in the UAAP.

Regardless of what happens, it should be quite emotional.

“You have to be ready,” said Valdez, Ateneo’s heart and soul, who will be graduating this year together with teammates Amy Ahomiro and Mary Mae Tajima.

“Just give your best and give your all,” she added.

For La Salle, bidding the team and the UAAP goodbye after today’s game are Mika Reyes, Ara Galang, Cydthealee Demecillo and Carol Ann Cerveza.

“We’ll see how our UAAP careers will close,” said Valdez last Wednesday after leading Ateneo to a magical come-from-behind win after falling two sets down.

Valdez carried the fight for Ateneo and squeezed the best from her teammates in the end. She scored 34 points, 32 of them on powerful strikes.

Ateneo won the match, played before 20,126 fans and which lasted two hours and eight minutes, 18-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 15-11, to force the winner-take-all match.

The Lady Eagles got off on the wrong foot in Game 2 and fell behind, mostly on errors they could have avoided. For a while, it seemed over for Ateneo.

By the end of the second set, La Salle players bounced on their feet by the bench, and their fans seemed ready to get the victory party going.

But Valdez and the rest of the Lady Eagles had other things in mind.

“We’re just really happy to win this game. God just gave us another chance to defend the title,” said Valdez inside the packed press room of the Mall of Asia Arena.

She said the Lady Eagles should head to today’s game thinking that nothing has been achieved yet, and their goal yet to be reached.

“Coach Tai (Bundit) would always tell us that it’s zero-zero – even when we were down two sets in this game. We played like we had nothing to lose,” said Valdez.

“Our teamwork really worked. We’re so happy we worked as a team today. But it’s not over yet. We’ll see each other on Saturday,” she said.

“We will try to remember all the things we did right today and those that we did wrong we must try to fix it. We need to prepare ourselves physically and mentally. It’s Game Three. It’s the finals. It’s mind over matter,” Valdez said.

La Salle players shied away from the media after the bitter loss last Wednesday. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow, one that’s not easy to forget.

But the Lady Spikers have been there and done that.

Reyes, well-loved by La Salle fans, had little to say after the loss.

“We’ll just see you on Saturday,” she said.

Valdez knows how it feels.

“Sino ba naman gusto matalo? (Does anybody want to lose?)” Valdez said.

“La Salle will fight back,” she added.