MANILA, Philippines – The top spot in the UAAP Season 79 women's volleyball tournament will be on the line when defending champion De La Salle University takes on rival Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Both teams enter the highly anticipated match with 5-1 win-loss records, and their first meeting of the season will determine who will end the first round as the No. 1 team.
It will be a battle between two squads that are on a roll. La Salle has won three straight games, including back-to-back romps over Adamson University and University of the East. Ateneo, meanwhile, has strung together four straight wins, capped by a straight sets takedown of the erstwhile unbeaten University of the Philippines.
"Labanan ng walang star," Ateneo assistant coach Sherwin Meneses quipped when asked for his thoughts on the rivalry game. "Hindi lang isa or dalawa – six, seven, eight ang labanan sa Saturday."
"Kung sino 'yung mas maganda ang team work, 'yun ang mananalo," he predicted.
With both teams featuring veteran setters, La Salle head coach Ramil de Jesus believes the match will be decided on service receptions.
"Magkakatalo na lang talaga sa pasa. Kung sino may pasa, sila 'yung may play," he said.
In this regard, La Salle has the advantage. They are the best receiving team in the league, with an efficiency rate of 38.84%, and they still feature the league's best libero in Dawn Macandili. Ateneo, meanwhile, is at No. 6 when it comes to receiving (24.47%).
Despite this, the Lady Eagles' offense remains as lethal as ever, even without Valdez to carry the load for them. Ateneo is the best spiking team in the league, converting 39% of their attacks, well ahead of La Salle's 33.28% rate. Four of the UAAP's best spikers play for Ateneo – Bea De Leon, Morente, Maraguinot, and Kat Tolentino.
It is always said, however, that you can throw stats out the window when the archrivals face off. More than the No. 1 standing, the Lady Eagles and the Lady Spikers are also playing for pride.
"Gusto naming patunayan na kahit maraming naawala, we can still do it," said La Salle's Dy, who has become their No. 1 option this season. "Maraming umangat na team, at mas mahirap 'yung competition. I guess that's why we have to win more now."
"Taon-taon naman, parating pride lang ang pinag-uusapan dito," La Salle captain Kim Fajardo said. "Ayaw naman naming magpatalo, kasi malaking bagay 'yung pride sa amin."
The Lady Eagles are equally determined to notch a statement victory as they continue to navigate the post-Alyssa Valdez era.
"How we played (against UP), we have to triple it pa," Ateneo setter Jia Morado said. "Less errors, more communication, more teamwork pa."
"We need to be more aggressive and more composed against La Salle," said Maraguinot.
For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.
0 comments :
Post a Comment