Point blank. A Lady Spiker fires one past the towering Adamson blocking duo. Photo by Pia B. Guballa.
NUMBER ONE. Don’t set it in stone yet, but it looks like it’s finally happening this year.
After last year’s ho-hum UAAP finish, the Lady Spikers had the entire offseason to reboot and reevaluate a season of disappointment.
With five new additions to the team and most of the team’s valuable players intact, last summer, Coach Roger Gorayeb hoped for a better finish than third. Nonetheless, they faltered throughout the season, squandering leads and losing to teams they knew they themselves could beat.
The summer offered a chance to get rid of the disappointment and in doing so, the Lady Spikers achieved a milestone. The team bagged its first-ever title in the 2011 Shakey’s V-League as they went on to win all but one game in the pre-season tourney.
Powered by essentially the same core as last year’s team, with the addition of UST High School standout Alyssa Valdez and Thai guest player Kesinee Lithawat, the Lady Spikers made the title run look effortless.
Last season, Ateneo already had scorers in Fille Cainglet, Angeline Gervacio, Kara Acevedo and Ella de Jesus. The addition of Valdez, who sat out one year due to residency, made the arsenal more lethal, as the rookie relentlessly spiked to fill the stat sheet.
The Lady Spikers finished the tournament with an almost-perfect regular season record, crushing the likes of the FEU Lady Tamaraws, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Lady Pirates, the Southwestern University Cobras and the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Lady Stags. Their first and only loss only came in the elimination round against the Adamson Lady Falcons.
After sweeping the University of Perpetual Help Lady Altas in two games, Ateneo faced a revamped NU squad in the best-of-three semifinals round. The league later forfeited one of Ateneo’s wins due to a mix-up with the officials and roster declarations, causing them to play an extra game. The Lady Spikers responded positively, thrashing the Lady Bulldogs in just two games.
The ladies in Blue then found themselves pitted against the Lady Falcons, this time under the lights of the finals. Although Adamson was the only team to tarnish their elimination round record, Ateneo played with relentless energy and a champion’s composure to take the series and the title in just two games.
During the second game, the announcer said that the title was the first the Lady Spikers had won in any league. The team made history after punctuating a title drought that had been running from 1978—33 long years—until this year’s squad topped the V-League’s first conference.
Several Lady Spikers won awards for their efforts. Dennise Lazaro was named Best Receiver, Fille Cainglet nabbed the Most Improved Player, Thai guest player Kesinee Lithawat was dubbed Most Valuable Player and rookie Alyssa Valdez grabbed Finals’ Most Valuable Player honors.
The second game of the finals was an emotional one too, as open hitter and former team captain Kara Acevedo played her last game with the team.
Bea Pascual, one of Ateneo’s prominent middle hitters last season, was also present to support the team. Season 73 was Pascual’s last season after playing out five years in the program.
Even without collegiate powerhouses UST and DLSU to contend with, the Lady Spikers faced formidable foes in the tournament.
Adamson had UAAP Season 73 MVP Angela Benting and former Ateneo guest player Michelle Laborte in their coffers. NU shored up their recruiting, finally being able to play guest players Denise Santiago, another UST High School standout, and Cherry Mae Vivas, FEU’s former marquee player.
