Blue Eagles finally triumph; Tigresses prey on Lady Tams
Ateneo had little to celebrate at the end of the first round of the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament.
Fortunately for the Blue Eagles, they managed to close the first half of the eliminations on a positive note, sweeping the University of the East, 25-19, 25-23, 25-16, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday for their first win of the season.
But instead of dwelling on finally snapping a six-game losing streak, Ateneo’s Zel Tsunashima chose to focus on the road ahead.
After all, a 1-6 record after seven games—with seven still to play—does little to brighten the team’s Final Four hopes.
“We’re very grateful to win against UE, but like our coaches said, we have to power on in the second round,” she said.
“We’ll work on our character inside the court. I believe we have the skills, but our maturity and character inside the court—we need to improve on that.”
Coincidentally, Ateneo’s last UAAP win before Saturday also came against the Lady Red Warriors, in their final game of Season 87.
This season’s start, however, has been even tougher for the Blue Eagles.
Last year, Ateneo finished the first round with a 2-5 record before ending the tournament at 5-9—short of a playoff berth.
Rookie Ana Hermosura was not part of that squad.
Now wearing Ateneo colors, she hopes to help change the narrative.
“Coming into the second round, hopefully we get to rack up more wins and gain more learning experiences,” Hermosura said after scoring 12 points.
Jihan Chuatico also finished with 12 points, while setter KC Cortez tallied 12 excellent sets in the win over the Lady Red Warriors.
The Blue Eagles still face a steep climb. Ateneo trails Adamson and University of Santo Tomas—currently tied for fourth place—by three games in the standings.
UE, meanwhile, dropped to 0-7 entering the second round. Khy Cepada still delivered 13 points, built on 11 attacks and two aces.
In the second game, University of Santo Tomas continued finding its way through a coaching transition and ended its first-round scheduled by blanking Far Eastern U, Far Eastern University, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20.
Despite coming out of the round with a 4-3 record, assistant coach Yani Fernandez said everything has been a slow march to progress.
“[We’re taking] baby steps, but again, we see the series of these games and at least, even if we were slow at the start, we did well at the end [of the first round],” Fernandez said in Filipino.
“That’s what’s speaking for us in our games. We need to meet halfway and support each other because that’s the essence of the team.”
After starting the season with two losses under new coach Shaq Delos Santos, who replaced long-time mentor Kungfu Reyes, the Tigresses buckled down and won four of their last five games.
Fernandez acknowledged that while it was hard to transition from one coach to another—Reyes held the fort for 10 years after all—but their ability to rise from a poor start is a good sign.
