UAAP: Undefeated no longer - Lady Eagles win Finals game one, snap DLSU's 30-win streak

(Updated 8:45pm) The Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles continued their magical postseason run, inflicting the first loss of the season on the De La Salle University Lady Spikers at one of the most opportune times - game one of the Finals. The third-seeded squad won 25-17 23-25 25-13 25-20 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Yun yung hirap ng matagal na pahinga.” exclaimed DLSU coach, Ramil de Jesus, whose wards endured a long break in-between games, due to the stepladder format of the postseason. However he shared that he will not use it as an excuse and also attributed the result to a well-balanced effort by the Lady Eagles.

“Marami din nagperform para sa Ateneo hindi lang si [Alyssa] Valdez, katulad ni [Michelle] Morente,” he said.

La Salle entered the Finals series undefeated, giving them a thrice-to-beat advantage in the Finals. However, Ateneo's win essentially reset the table, turning things into essentially a best-of-three series.

The Lady Eagles first needed to beat Adamson in the #3 vs #4 matchup first in the stepladder postseason. They followed that up by erasing #2 National University's twice-to-beat advantage, thus pushing them through to the Finals.

As a result of the loss, La Salle's 30-game win streak was also snapped.

The rookie Morente starred in the match, scoring a game-high 17 points. She finished a notch higher than the usual Ateneo scorers Amy Ahomiro and Alyssa Valdez, who both scored 16 each. “Go with the flow lang kami,” Morente explained, “Ginawa lang talaga naming ang lahat na makakaya namin.”

Despite the possibility of rust hanging over their heads, the Lady Spikers opened the first set with an 8-1 advantage dispelled that notion, at least for the first set. Amidst the back-and-forth display of relentlessness by Ateneo's Morente and Valdez, the Lady Eagles struggled to find any source of offense. A service ace from Desiree Cheng increased the La Salle’s lead to double figures, 13-3. The Lady Spikers then never looked back as they captured the opening set with the score of 25-17.

The second set started with La Salle in control, care of an 8-4 start. Ateneo however retaliated with a 4-0 scoring run sparked by Ella de Jesus and Morente’s aggressiveness to attack despite the presence of the La Salle blockers. With Amy Ahomiro notching back-to-back service aces, Ateneo managed to take the lead by the technical timeout at 16-14.

The Lady Eagles maintained their lead throughout and captured set-point at 24-22 care of Amy Ahomiro’s third service ace of the set. A Mika Reyes front-row attack that sailed out of bounds rattled La Salle, evening things at a set apiece, 25-23.

With the momentum on their side, the Lady Eagles shocked the heavily-favored DLSU squad with a scoring outburst built a double-figure buffer. Morente, Valdez and Ahomiro clicked from every conceivable angle, while de Jesus highlighted the Ateneo run with an athletic and well-timed block. In addition, de Jesus at one point let loose two straight service aces to push Ateneo safely ahead at 21-10. With the Araneta Coliseum in complete pandemonium, the Lady Eagles secured the third set by a twelve-point margin at 25-13.

Ateneo continued in the fourth set with an all-around and well-balanced effort from Valdez, de Jesus and Ahomiro as the Lady Eagles managed an 8-7 advantage by the first technical timeout. Ateneo sustained their offensive surge to propel them to an 19-11 advantage, later on.

However, as the defending champs, the Lady Spikers fought back and kept within striking distance. Cyd Demecillo’s crafty effort in finding the openings in Ateneo’s defense provided a much-needed spark for La Salle. In addition, Ara Galang’s efficiency from the service zone opened up opportunities for the Lady Spikers to dampen Ateneo’s momentum.

With Ateneo's lead chopped down to just two points at 21-19, Morente responded to the situation and made it a three-point affair, 22-19. With a Demecillo error and back-to-back attacks from Ahomiro and Valdez, the Ateneo Lady Eagles handed La Salle their first loss since December 2, 2012.

Cyd Demecillo paced DLSU with 16 point, with Ara Galang chiming in with 13. Aby Marano came up with just 10 markers.

The normally machine-like La Salle team committed more errors, resulting in a 26-22 difference in points off miscues between the two sides in Ateneo's favor. The Lady Eagles also dominated the non-scoring skills, including a whopping 50-29 edge in excellent digs.  - AMD, GMA News