TWO GAMES, five sets apiece. This was the most grueling University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Volleyball finals series against archrivals National University (NU) Bulldogs that the Ateneo Men’s Volleyball Team (AMVT) had to trudge through to get a taste of the three-peat at the end of the road.
Having conceded only one set to the Bulldogs during the elimination round, the Katipunan-based squad and the audience were definitely shocked by the NU team. The Bulldogs, two-time UAAP first runner-ups, entered the finals series with renewed fire to bring back the championship title, which the Blue Eagles had stolen from them when NU was on its way to achieving their third consecutive title in Season 77.
As the Bulldogs showed prowess on the court and drove each game to its fifth and deciding set of each game, the Blue Eagles were now on the edge of conceding not only the game, but also their undefeated run this year from preseason league Spikers’ Turf to Season 79 of the UAAP. Even after heading straight to the finals via the stepladder format and going through a 23-day break from the UAAP, the Blue Eagles managed to survive the first finals game by a slim margin by coming back to their usual form after a sluggish performance early in the game. As the Blue Eagles went head-to-head once again with the Bulldogs in Game 2, both teams were more determined to end the championships in their favor. With another crucial 13-all tie in the fifth set, Head Coach Oliver Almadro gave his last words to the team, as emotions ran throughout the dying moments of the match.
“Before we win, we have to believe that we will win! Believe that you are worthy, and it will be given to you,” said Coach Almadro.
As the championship was within two points from the Blue Eagles, the hunger for their ultimate goal showed on the court, as back-to-back blocks by graduating player Rex Intal and Ace Marck Espejo finished the AMVT’s Season 79 run with their third straight UAAP championship.
The dark ages
Before Season 76, the AMVT had never recorded a championship title for the Loyola Schools. Ateneo Volleyball Program Director Sherwin Malonzo was the former head coach of the Blue Eagles from 1999 to 2007. Malonzo recalls that the AMVT would always end each season at eighth place among the UAAP schools. During this period of hopelessness for the Blue and White, Malonzo initiated a revised program in 2005, which bore fruit as the team was able to raise a rank higher in the overall standings during that year, with the AMVT eventually claiming their first bronze medal finish in the league.
Malonzo already considers Coach Almadro as a vital factor to the team upon his entry to the AMVT’s coaching staff in 2008 (Season 71). It was the same season where the Blue Eagles were able to make their first final four appearance in history and land in third place overall in the UAAP.
“Coach O [Almadro] is a big factor sa program natin. Marami siyang contributions in terms of training techniques and enthusiasm. So iyon. Natri-trickle down yun sa players (Coach O is a big factor in our program. He has a lot of contributions in terms of traning techniques and enthusiasm. So that was it. It trickled down on the players),” says Malonzo.
However, Almadro had to leave the Blue Eagles’ nest in order to resolve certain issues, which led him to work for the NU camp in Season 73 and 74. As he coached a powerhouse team in the UAAP, he was able to lead the Bulldogs to the crown during his stay in National University. But back in Katipunan, the Blue Eagles plunged back into the rankings of their dark past, sinking into the bottom of the table without the guidance of Almadro.
New beginnings
Fortunately for the AMVT, the events that occurred upon entering Season 76 gifted them with renewed hope. With much persuasion from his former players in the Ateneo, Almadro returned to the Loyola Schools, and brought along his top recruits Spiker Marck Espejo and Setter Ish Polvorosa.
“I didn’t have any idea of coming back na to Ateneo. But most of my former players asked me if there’s a chance na makabalik ako. Ang sabi ko ‘I’m not closing my doors’,” says Almadro. “And suddenly, I opened up my closet and I saw all Ateneo coaches’ shirts under the closet so sabi ko ‘is it a sign that I have to go back or accept their request?’ And siguro nakita ko yung chance na God has plans talaga so I accepted their request.”
The addition of the Espejo-Polvorosa tandem also raised the level of play of the whole team. Although the then-rookies were not in their champion form yet, they were vital to the major regrouping and team building of the Blue Eagles. The team itself cultivated a culture that welcomed each of them, which hastened the development of their chemistry in Season 76.
“Siyempre unang pumasok ko may sariling mundo kasi ako (Of course when I entered, I had my own world),” says recalls Espejo. “Tapos yun naramdaman ko na sa team pala ito, hindi lang basta teammates kayo, hindi lang basta magkakaibigan, brothers kayo. Parang trinetreat namin yung isa’t isa as a family sa loob ng court (Then I felt that this is team, you’re not only team mates, you’re not only friends, you are brothers. We treat each other as a family in the court).”
The four-year journey
The rigorous preparation of Coach Almadro not only touched on developing the skills of his players, but also on instilling a set of values in the team, through his three famous words: Faith, Trust and Courage. During Season 76, the team’s expectations were to only make it into the final four, coming from an eighth place finish in Season 75. However, the Blue Eagles broke boundaries and successfully made a finals appearance against the Bulldogs. Although they lost to NU in the Season 76 finals series, Espejo was able to garner a Rookie-MVP status in the league, while Polvorosa emerged as the Best Setter even though he was pitted against more mature and experienced setters.
Since their performance in Season 76 exceeded expectations, the Blue Eagles became hungry to bring home the first championship title to Ateneo. After another finals matchup with the NU Bulldogs in Season 77, the Blue Eagles battled through another season with more mature plays from the starting six, and the team eventually tasted the sweetest victory in history, as the trumped the Bulldogs to win the historic championship title. Going into Season 78 with a title to defend, the Blue Eagles have been labeled to be one of the most intimidating teams in the UAAP by then. However, through their continuous preparation in both mind and spirit, the Blue Eagles were able to sweep the title again and they were able to take down the NU Bulldogs in two games in the finals series.
Now with the three-peat at their hands, Coach Almadro still refers back to his mantra in Season 76 as the key factor to the successful journey of the AMVT.
“We ended up with [those] three words that we [held] onto since Season 76, 77, 78 and 79. It’s about the faith, the trust and the courage,” says Coach Almadro. “It’s not about pure talent always. Yes of course, we have to be prepared physically, but we also have to be prepared by heart, by mind and by spirit.”
