Editor: Chino C. Razon · Editorial Assistant: Faith R. Decangchon · Layout Artist: Meg C. Quintos
Sports
10 SERVING THE TWO-YEAR RESIDENCY Sidelined yet committed for another year.
T E A M AT E N E O
The season that was PHOTOS BY ALEXANDRA L. HUANG
By Raizza P. Bello ONE RANK down from last year’s overall standings, the Ateneo de Manila University stood at fourth place in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 76 General Championship Tally. The Ateneo trailed the twopeat champion De La Salle University (DLSU), second seed University of Santo Tomas (UST) and third place University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD) with 289, 270 and 235 points, respectively. Ateneo’s performance was a reflection of all of the athletes’ hard work and dedication. The Lady Eagle’s leader, Alyssa Valdez, speaks for all of the athletes in the Ateneo that every training session was not put to waste. “Our sacrifices were all worth it, not just [the volleyball team’s] efforts, but also all of the athletes in Ateneo.” With the season’s wrap last March, here’s an overview of team Ateneo’s fight for the blue and white glory. Season recap
Under the raging heat, the power duo of Bea Tan and Valdez battled several pairings which led to a third-place finish in the beach volleyball tournament. In the martial arts arena, the Blue and Lady Jins concluded their season with both fifth place rankings. Despite this, the latter managed to win the bronze medal at the Poomsae event—a competition showcasing Taekwondo forms with music accompaniment. In Los Baños, Laguna, the Blue Tankers finished strong at third place, unable to reclaim the championship title. The Lady Tankers remained in second behind the five-time champion UPD. On the field, the Lady Booters fought through draws and losses, finishing at third place.
Back at the g ymnasium, despite the loss of national team player Mighty Ignacio, the Blue Fencers managed to rank third overall. The Lady Fencers, on the other hand, came off a point short against Far Eastern University, denying them an overall bronze finish. The following teams remained behind the pack, placing in the lower half standings of their competitions: Ateneo Women’s Basketball team, Blue Beach Spikers, Blue Babble Battalion, Blue and Lady Paddlers, Lady Batters, Blue and Lady Wood Pushers, Blue and Lady
to deliver plays throughout their games. At a 7-6 win-loss record, the Blue Eagles battled in an elimination game against UST. The Tigers defeated the Blue Eagles, ending the championship reign of the latter and denying them of a final four slot—a position the Blue Eagles have been in since 1999. After this shift of scenario in the first semester, the whole UAAP community was in for a shock in the second half of the year. With the team’s young, new roster, the Ateneo Lady Eagles outlasted six do-or-die matches— one in the eliminations, two in
I hope that all the athletes of the different sports can improve on their performances compared to season 76 and never lose in them the will to win. [I wish] for every Atenean athlete [to have] the heart of a champion and [for] the champion teams to be hungrier and defend the titles. — DIA MAGNO Season 76 Team Captain, Lady Shuttlers
Tracksters, Blue and Lady Netters, and Blue Booters. Making the headlines
UAAP Season 76 was historical for the Ateneo sports, the highlights being the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball tournaments. With the loss of key players and a veteran coach, the Ateneo Blue Eagles struggled
the semi-finals and three in the finals against Adamson University, National University and DLSU, respectively. For the first time in the UAAP, the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball team clinched the much-coveted championship crown—an achievement they failed to snatch from their arch rival, DLSU, for the past two seasons.
The team attributed this triumph to their new coach, Anusorn “Tai” Bundhit, who instilled and popularized a “hea r t st rong ” m indset throughout the series. When asked on her assessment of Ateneo’s volleyball program, Valdez shares how proud she is of team Ateneo. “It really was amazing, as even the men’s team placed second.” The Lady Eagles’ counterpart, the Ateneo Men’s Volleyball team, made their mark in the arena as well, landing second to end their season. Besides this extreme turnof-events, there were also other Ateneo teams that fulfilled their season goal. The Blue and Lady Judokas claimed the championship and the second place titles, respectively, while the Blue and Lady Shuttlers dominated season 76. The Shuttlers’ record-clean sweep during the eliminations paved their way to winning the championship. It was the latter’s consecutive flawless win-loss standing and title in the UAAP. Similarly, the Blue Batters defeated DLSU in two straight games. It was their first sweep in the finals after forcing a third bout for the past two years, completing a back-toback championship. The backbone
Behind all of these successes were the Ateneo athletes who stepped up last season, giving their respective squads a boost. Blue Batter Andy Tan was named the season’s Most Valuable Player in their back-to-back title stint. New players Bianca Carlos of the Women’s Badminton team and Marck Espejo of the Men’s Volleyball team were both named Rookie of the Year (ROY) and MVP in their leagues. Blue Judokas Rap Sapi and Matthew Jao were also awarded with ROY and MVP, The season ›› 11
Ateneo's Shakey's V-League stint
By Chino C. Razon JUST WEEKS after their historic championship run, the Ateneo Lady Eagles immediately returned to the court for the 11th season of the Shakey’s V-League. Ateneo opened the tournament with a four-set victory against the Adamson Lady Falcons. The jam-packed San Juan Arena that held 5,203 in attendance witnessed Alyssa Valdez tally 23 points in the Lady Eagle’s win. The Lady Eagles also proved why they were the crowd favorites with three-set victories against the College of St. Benilde, Southwestern University and St. Louis University. They averaged a dominating 24.33 point differential in the three wins; outscoring their opponents by almost one whole set.
Their only preliminary round loss was care of the scrappy Arellano Lady Chiefs. The Lady Eagles rallied from an 11-5 deficit in the fifth set with a 7-0 run but fell short with the score of 15-13. Ateneo’s Kim Gequillana saw valuable minutes as she played in all five sets and contributed 10 points. Despite their stellar performance in the tournament, the Lady Eagles were unable to get through both of their quarterfinal bouts. Ateneo’s 44 unforced errors plagued them in their five-set thriller against the guest team, Davao Lady Agilas. Their final match was a three-set defeat against the University of Sto Tomas’ well-balanced attack. Regardless of the result, the Lady Eagles were able to garner enough experience for their younger players in preparation for future competitions.
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