Soarin' Eagles destined to win

MANILA, Philippines - All Ateneo wanted was to redeem itself from a missed Final Four stint in last year’s Shakey’s V-League second conference.

But after seven weeks and 11 games of grueling action, not to mention a forfeiture, the Lady Eagles didn’t only make it back to the semis but made it all the way to the championship.

“Perhaps, it’s fate or destiny that we are all brought together at this point to win the championship,” said Charo Soriano, a former Ateneo star who has never won a title as player and guest player for the school in her 12-conference stint.

After finishing fifth in last year’s second conference won by Adamson, Ateneo tapped Soriano, who shared her talent and expertise with some of her former teammates and new recruits to form a formidable roster.

Things looked up for the soaring Lady Eagles right in the elims, which they swept then dominated their rivals to arrange a showdown with the very team that foiled their first and last crack at a championship in 2008.

But even if the odds favored the Lady Falcons, who boast of such talents as former two-time MVP Nerissa Soriano, Michelle Laborte and Paulina Soriano, the Ateneo rookie mentor never lost hope and never lost trust in her wards.

 “That’s what I’ve learned – to hope for the best. But then again, we also have to prepare for what we want to achieve. You have to do something about it as well,” said Soriano after steering the Lady Eagles to a clinching five-setter, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11, last Tuesday.

“It doesn’t make much of a difference if I won the title as a coach or as a player as long as I was there. I can’t ask for anything more and we’re very happy because after all this time, after all this decades, we’re able to give back to our Alma Mater,” said Soriano.

It was the Lady Eagles’ first major volleyball championship in 35 years or since then coach Pitong Custodio piloted Ateneo to a women’s crown in the 1976-77 NCAA season.

The Eagles thus became only the fifth team in league history to win a title behind San Sebastian (1 title), Adamson (2),  La Salle (3) and UST (6).

Against an upstart National U side in the Final Four, Ateneo needed to win all two games after the league forfeited their Game 1 win due to player ineligibility issues. The Eagles also entered the Finals as underdogs against the Falcons, who defeated them in straight-sets in the quarterfinals.

But the Lady Eagles had other things in mind.

With Jem Ferrer proving to be a gem of a setter, Ateneo’s offense took its own course behind attackers Lithawat Kesinee of Thailand, guest player Alyssa Valdez and Fille Cainglet, who overpowered their counterparts throughout the best-of-three series.

 “Jem (Ferrer) has improved a lot and she has really matured as a player. She’s a fighter and she epitomizes the true Atenean athlete. I’m very, very proud of her,” said Soriano of her prized ward from Hope Christian High School, who went on to bag the Finals MVP.

 The title romp, set up by their Game One win, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20, and fashioned out before some 2,500 fans, also couldn’t have been possible if not for the sophomore Valdez who took charge in decider of a two-hour encounter.

Valdez, a former youth national team standout, fired six of her 24 points in the crucial stretch, starring in a sizzling run that allowed the Eagles to pull away to 10-5 from a 5-all count.

“She really pulled through. In the end, when it mattered, she really pulled it off for us. She won the game for us in the fifth set,” said Soriano of the 17-year-old Valdez, a prized recruit from the University of Santo Tomas high school.

 Soriano also thanked the fans, whom she described as their “driving force” and whom the Lady Eagles would rely on again when they shoot for another championship beginning July 3.