Lady Eagles blank Lady Bulldogs to draw first blood

MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Lady Eagles moved one step closer to completing their three-peat drive after surprisingly dominating first time finalist National University with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-23 victory to draw first blood in their best-of-three finals in the Shakey’s V-League Season 10 First Conference at the Mall of Asia Arena today.

Ateneo looked pristine in the third set after taking a comfortable 24-19 lead but NU gave the Lady Eagles a good scare and stringed together four straight points to cut the deficit to the slimmest of margin, 23-24.

Rachel Ann Daquis had other plans for the Lady Eagles and came up with a magnificent spike in the middle of NU’s defense for the match point.

“I’m very happy with the performance of our team, I always tell them we don’t come here to play but to win,” said Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb.

Gorayeb apparently overheard negative remarks belittling the Lady Eagles and used the criticism to the advantage of Ateneo that fueled their motivation.

“Madami nagsasabi three sets lang daw kami parang nung nangyari nung quarterfinals, pero wag sila maging overconfident kasi Finals na ito,” said Gorayeb.

“Non-bearing pa naman yung mga earlier games compared dito sa Finals, ito ang mga pinakaimportanteng laro,” he added.

Hard-hitting star Alyssa Valdez was seldomly used due to a shoulder injury but Amy Amohiro stepped up to the plate to the delight of Gorayeb.

“Matagal ng player ng Ateneo yan, masipag sa training although di pa siya ganun ka-mature may tiwala talaga ako sa laro niya,” said Gorayeb of Amohiro, who showed flashes of brilliance in her game, scattering six points.

Guest players Jeng Bualee and Daquis spearheaded the Lady Eagles attack with 14 points each including 13 kills apiece.

Ateneo did a good job on NU star Dindin Santiago, the youngest MVP of the Shakey’s V-League history, holding her down to a measly five-point output.

Game 2 is set on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena, 4 P.M.