THE ATENEO Blue Eagles kicked off their preseason stint with a 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-7 comeback against the San Beda University (SBU) Lady Red Spikers. The 2024 Shakey’s Super League Pre-Season Championship opener was held earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in the City of Manila.
This win places the Blue Eagles at de facto solo first in Pool A of the first round with a win-loss record of 1-0.
Ateneo Team Captain Lyann De Guzman was named Player of the Game with 17 points off 14 attacks, two service aces, and one block. Meanwhile, fellow veterans Jennifer Delos Santos and Zel Tsunashima also put up double digits in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
On the side of the Lady Red Spikers, NCAA Season 99 Rookie of the Year Angel Mae Habacon came up huge with 14 points.
From the onset of the match, the Mendiola-based squad got off to a scorching start by relying on their quick offense and capitalizing on the Blue Eagles’ poor floor defense. After starting off with costly errors on both sides, San Beda managed to spark a 4-0 run that saw Rianne Bedural notch back-to-back aces, 8-3.
The Lady Red Spikers maintained their cushion off consecutive aces by Habacon, 13-7, forcing Ateneo to call for time. However, the Blue Eagles managed to trim the deficit midway through the opening frame by banking both on SBU’s errors and Tsunashima’s timely attack conversions, 16-18.
Continuing to build on their newfound momentum, the Blue and White came up with their own 5-0 run at the backend of the set off multiple errors on the side of San Beda to eventually take the lead, 22-21.
Despite the advantage, Ateneo was unable to hold on to their slim lead after consecutive points from the Bedural-Habacon duo, allowing the Lady Red Spikers to take the first set, 22-25.
The Blue and White failed to adjust their floor defense and reception woes which ultimately haunted them in the opening of the second frame. The Mendiola-based squad quickly secured a three-point lead, 5-8, courtesy of the error-plagued Blue Eagles and the offense of Chynna Castillo who notched three quick attack points.
Off an Ateneo timeout, the Lady Red Spikers kept their foot on the gas and showed their prowess on the offensive end. While the Blue Eagles committed consecutive reception and service errors, Castillo handed the Bedans a six-point advantage with a cross-court attack to establish their biggest lead of the set, 9-15.
However, the game took a sharp turn as the Blue Eagles gradually crawled back into the frame. Anchoring their comeback attempt were Delos Santos, De Guzman, and prized rookie Jihan Chuatico, who attacked the Bedans in their manless zones.
While the game went back and forth, the Blue Eagles surprised the Lady Red Spikers with a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to just one, 20-21. After Pacia scored the 20th point for Ateneo with a forceful attack, the Blue Eagle was met by Janella Bachar at the net on the next play, spoiling Ateneo’s comeback attempt.
The Blue Eagles lost their steam in the latter part of the frame as San Beda ultimately asserted their dominance, executing their own 4-0 run to close the set, 20-25.
The third set found the Blue Eagles taking the advantage early, backed behind a pair of powerful strikes from Tsunashima. The Lady Red Spikers refused to stay silent, however, with Molina leading the charge by quickly regaining the lead for San Beda, 7-9. Refusing to back down, the Blue Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take their first significant lead in all sets, 12-9.
Although Ateneo maintained a majority of the lead throughout the frame, both teams began to trade blows, refusing to give up a huge lead. Nonetheless, De Guzman and Delos Santos proved to be a tough matchup for the Lady Red Spikers, as the duo continued to create attacking opportunities for their squad. Meanwhile, Molina’s dominance continued for San Beda, providing her team a number of points through both offense and defense.
In the closing stages of the set, veteran setter Taks Fujimoto provided a momentous point with a perfectly-placed tip ball at the back corner of the court, leaving no hope for the Lady Red Spikers to defend the chance. This play, along with a combination of San Beda errors, allowed Ateneo to nab the lead 21-17, forcing a timeout for the Red and White.
Despite a few errors and quick attacks from San Beda, the late surge of points for the Blue Eagles and constant attacking pressure proved enough for Ateneo to close the set at 25-21.
Keen on forcing a five-setter, the Blue Eagles picked up where they left off, entering the fourth set with swag. The Katipunan-based squad’s offensive start forced the error-laden San Beda to call an early timeout after establishing a four-point lead, 8-4.
The game went from pillar to post as both teams showed their abilities to orchestrate their own versions of small runs.
However, the Blue and White remained in the driver’s seat after forcing errors from the Lady Red Spikers. The Blue Eagles maintained their four-point lead off an attack from Delos Santos and a four-touch error by San Beda, 19-15.
As soon as the Katipunan-based squad thought they were out in the woods, the Lady Red Spikers showed knack, executing a 5-0 run to claim their first lead in the set, 19-20. Showing their composure, the Blue Eagles managed to have its own 5-0 run, powered by an ace from Zey Pacia and two masterful attacks from De Guzman to put Ateneo at set point, 24-20.
Despite De Guzman’s attack error that gave the Bedans a breathing room, 24-21, Delos Santos unexpectedly closed the frame by dropping a chance ball at SBU’s campfire, 25-21.
Coming into the final and deciding set, the Blue Eagles flaunted the momentum on their side with dominant strikes from Tsunashima and Delos Santos. Seasoned middle blocker AC Miner also provided a much-needed support in the middle to help Ateneo produce their biggest lead of the match, 9-2.
After using both timeouts early on in the set, the Lady Red Spikers attempted to regain control, scoring three points in a row, 9-5. However, the Blue Eagles remained relentless, going on their own three-point scoring run to widen the gap back to 12-5.
Despite attempts from San Beda to get back into the game, Ateneo’s offense was too much to handle for the Lady Red Spikers, with an off-the-block point from Yvana Sulit completing the comeback, 15-7.
After overcoming a tough SBU squad, De Guzman shared how the team braces for their next matchup against reigning UAAP and Shakey’s Super League champions from National University (NU).
“Our goal is to show what we have learned from our coach this pre-season. […] For our coach, it’s really important that we follow his system. It’s okay if the other team wins, as long as we follow the system because it’s a win-win for us,” said the team captain in a mix of English and Filipino.
The Blue Eagles look to continue their winning ways when they face the defending champion NU Lady Bulldogs next Friday, October 4, at 6:00 PM in the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): De Guzman – 17, Delos Santos – 12, Tsunashima – 11, Pacia – 8, Miner – 4, Sulit – 3, Fujimoto – 3, Buena – 3, Selga – 2, Nisperos – 1, Chuatico – 1
SBU (2): Habacon – 14, Bachar – 10, Apan – 9, Molina – 7, Castillo – 6, Bedural – 5, Cagalawan – 4, Navarro – 3, Canete – 3, Bernal – 1, Campos – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-SBU: 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-7
Pool A Standings (W-L):
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-0)
- AU Lady Chiefs (0-0)
- EAC Lady Generals (0-0)
- NU Lady Bulldogs (0-0)
- SBU Lady Red Spikers (0-1)
