For the first time in five years, Ateneo de Manila University will not have superstar Alyssa Valdez to lean on. How will the spikers from Katipunan perform in the UAAP Season 79 tournament?
Season 78 record: 12-2
Season 78 summary: The Ateneo Lady Eagles were under immense pressure in Season 78. They were two-time defending champions, coming off a perfect season, and bannered by the league’s reigning MVP in Alyssa Valdez. All season long, they played under a microscope, with every move scrutinized.
They started the tournament with a seven-game winning streak, making it 24 victories in a row since their Cinderella-run to the title in Season 76. However, their aura of invincibility was shattered by archrivals De La Salle University, who dominated them in a three-set victory to end the first round.
A four-set loss to University of the Philippines (UP) in the first game of the second round made it two defeats in a row, the first time in two years that Ateneo had a losing streak. They righted the ship towards the end of the second round, avenging their loss to La Salle with a five-set victory in the final game of the elimination round to take the top seed.
Ateneo cruised to the Finals after beating UP in straight sets in the Final Four, but in Game 1 of the Finals, they were again steamrolled by the Lady Spikers. A historic 34-point performance from Valdez in Game 2 allowed them to force a do-or-die Game 3, but there, the Lady Spikers proved to be the better team, winning in four sets to dethrone the Lady Eagles.
They had their chances to experiment during the V-League, with several players finding themselves on the receiving end of more touches than usual. The preseason tournament also gave Ateneo an opportunity to integrate utility spiker Michelle Morente back in the line-up after she missed all of last season due to academic issues.
Training camps in Japan and Thailand gave them more time to work on their chemistry, but it won’t be until the UAAP season unfurls that Ateneo’s famously passionate fans will finally get to see how the team looks in the post-Valdez era.
On paper, however, the team still has the look of a contender. Morado remains one of the best setters in the UAAP, and she now has a variety of weapons in De Leon, Maraguinot, the comebacking Madayag, Gopico and Morente, and, of course, the towering 6-foot-2 Tolentino, who is finally making her UAAP debut after sitting out two seasons due to injuries.
If Ateneo’s floor defense and reception – which took an obvious step back last year – can match the level of its offense, the Lady Eagles may find that their rebuilding period will last shorter than expected.
What they said: “More or less, actually, diskarte ni Jia kung kanino pupunta, tapos bahala na lang kung sa ‘yo mapunta… (There’s) no pressure. Like I said, it’s spread out, very equal siya, so pantay-pantay kami.” – Bea de Leon.
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