Looking at the Ateneo Lady Eagles' win over UP

MANILA, Philippines – I recall what Ateneo Lady Eagles head coach Oliver Almadro said following the opening day loss to La Salle about his team playing their worst and the league had yet to see them at their best.

This is a man who doesn’t boast and knows what he is talking about having been through a lot in terms of the game.

For all the talk of UP losing their focus, I will agree to a certain point.

Here is what I thought of that three-set win by Ateneo:

I think that they played UP at the right time and had gotten their full measure. They ratcheted up their net and floor defense which was very impressive. I thought that when they rejected a bunch of the Fighting Lady Maroons’ attacks, that had UP second guessing themselves. Ateneo’s Maddie Madayag and Bea De Leon have always been superb blockers, but the former has played outstanding volleyball this season while the latter has been painstakingly settling down and contributing.

They really stopped that deadly duo of Tots Carlos and Isa Molde and kept Marist Layug quiet until the late third set.

One problem plaguing Ateneo this season has been their attacks from the open position and Ponggay Gaston struggled for much of the first set to get a point or to kill the ball. But give a lot of credit to Oliver Almadro keeping her in the game and setter Deanna Wong still setting up her teammate. 

With shots raining down from all sides of the court, UP was left scrambling. Whether they were surprised by the intensity and ferocity, I don’t know, but they should know that is coming.

After all, this is Almadro at the helm. During the second year of his first stint with the Ateneo Men’s Volleyball Team, there was a game against defending champion UST and they were shredding the Growling Tigers’ vaunted defense with points coming from the wings (AJ Pareja and Timmy Sto. Tomas, who is the current head coach) and the middle from Macky Limengco and Mike De Joya. Almadro was exhorting his team to raise the intensity that had UST reeling. The Blue Eagles incredibly took the first two sets from UST — something they have never done before — they crumbled in the third set and lost in five. 

UST won because they more than matched Ateneo’s intensity that day — they surpassed it. 

If you watch and listen to Almadro during time outs, he will always tell his wards three things — make good reads, play with a lot of intensity, and play high risk volleyball. Seeing the fire in Wong reminds me of when Jem Ferrer was running plays for the Lady Eagles. Jem, the smallest player on the floor for Ateneo during the Roger Gorayeb-Fab Five years, was the one answering back to the Angeli Tabaqueros of the UAAP. And she didn’t only do it with her setting, but her blocking too.

UP is a team that likes to stare down and point, I thought that Deanna provided some angas in this post-Happy Happy team.

Katrina Tolentino has really become a force this year. Her serving is more efficient; ditto with her spiking. And she is getting it done on both ends of the court. Her defense is much better.

Of course, Kim Gequillana was superb and it is good to see her get regular playing time. I felt that she was not used properly in the last couple of seasons coming in as a utility player or service specialist. I was really wondering about her playing ahead of Dani Ravena because of her discomfort in playing the libero position. I was having flashbacks back to the Ronald Dulay days of Ateneo when he played Misha Quimpo at that spot when the obvious choice was Steph Gabriel. 

Again, give credit to both Gequillana and Almadro because Kim really stepped up against UP.

The last point is that high risk-high reward mantra of Almadro. That was a gutsy move of sending in Erika Raagas, Jaja Maraguinot, and Ravena during a crucial part of the third set. While UP was able to close the gap and even take a lead, Ateneo held fast with each of the late subs contributing. 

And I thought that it was perfect that Wong closed it out. High risk-high reward. Angas.

With UP, the talent has always been there. It has been an issue of confidence. Years ago, they were on Cloud 9 when they ran into an Ateneo team that also swept them in three. This is pretty much that same team minus some veterans. But the Fighting Lady Maroons have grown. They know what it is like to win.

If you will recall, this current UP team found their verve during Season 80’s second round win over Ateneo. That propelled them into their late season charge and the post-season success. 

Everyone keeps pointing to Ateneo and La Salle, but that is the traditional rivalry. If you have really followed UAAP women’s volleyball, it was Ateneo and UP and NU. These were the three teams that tried to stay out of the cellar and seventh spot in the league. All three teams saw their programs given a shot in the arm roughly around the same time if not within a year or two of each other. All three have battled for supremacy and of course, La Salle, for that crown.

For sure they will be back. But that is the question, right? Like La Salle after their two-game slide they played UE, UP will have wounded NU next before taking on an Adamson team that hasn’t found its legs at all for their final first round assignment.