V-League: Davao bests Ateneo in Agilas versus Eagles battle

The Davao Lady Agilas defeated the Ateneo Lady Eagles in their first Shakey’s V-League Season 11-1st Conference quarterfinals matchup, though they needed the full five sets to topple the reigning UAAP champs, 22-25 25-18 25-27 25-18 19-17, Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Despite a largely pro-Ateneo crowd, the Lady Agilas were able to win the respect of a good portion of the audience inside the Arena. As Lady Agila Jocemer Tapic shared “Sinabi ng coach namin na huwag kami magpadala sa crowd para makuha naming yung tiwala ng mga tao.”

The Lady Agilas used the same no-pressure mentality the Lady Eagles were known in the UAAP in their thrilling victory. “Sabi ko lalaban tayo, trust lang at i-trust rin ang mga kasama. I-enjoy lang natin ang game,” recalled Davao head coach, Abet Bernan. “Bigyan lang natin sila ng magandang laban. Pakita lang yung best, galaw lang kayo.”

He continued by saying that stopping Alyssa Valdez was key to their win “Sabi ko sa mga bata, pag makuha si Alyssa, tapos na ang laban.”  Their scouting of the Ateneo’s captain was evident in a crucial block on Valdez in the fifth set.

The Lady Agilas kicked off the match with an 8-7 lead by the first technical timeout, care of Reynelen Raterta’s deceptive second-ball tips. Ateneo answered the energy the Lady Agilas brought with Michelle Morente’s cross-court winners. The Lady Eagles built a 14-11 lead and forced Davao to call for time.

The Lady Agilas refused to let Ateneo take over the pace of the set as the spark Princess Oliveros brought for Davao dampened Ateneo’s crowd advantage. Her back-to-back service aces accompanied by a series of emphatic celebrations charmed the fans, and more importantly reduced the deficit to 15-14.

Unfortunately for Davao, a rotational error gave Ateneo a 19-16 advantage and enough momentum for the set. Kim Gequillana’s attack sealed the score and drew first blood for Ateneo at 25-22.

The Lady Agilas retaliated in the following set with an immediate 9-2 lead. With Raterta taking charge offensively with her ball distribution, the Lady Agilas increased their lead as much as ten with a 17-7 buffer. Ateneo tried to answer the Davao surge with Amy Ahomiro’s back-to-back service aces, which put the Lady Eagles closer at 17-10.

It was however too much of a task for the Lady Eagles as Oliveros and Jocemer Tapic relentlessly found ways to attack from the front-row. The Lady Agilas tied the match with the second set victory at 25-18.

The third set boiled down to a back-and-forth affair with the score deadlocked at 16-all. Angel Antipuesto stepped up for the Lady Agilas with a well-placed shot that was followed up by an emphatic block, bringing the score to a 19-16 advantage over Ateneo. Davao held on to the three-point cushion as Raterta, along with Mary Grace Berte’s efficiency, placed the Lady Agilas on top at 23-20.

However, the duo of Michelle Morente and Alyssa Valdez propelled Ateneo back into the game at 23-all with a 3-0 scoring run, off a string of block-piercing spikes. With an Oliveros attack that was called out, the Lady Eagles bounced back and regained the lead at 24-23. Ateneo finished the set with the extended score of 27-25.

Ateneo was clicking on all cylinders as they boasted of a 13-10 lead in the fifth and final set. With the crowd getting into the match, an unforced service error by Ahomiro started a 4-0 scoring run by the Lady Agilas and positioned Davao at match point, 14-13. Both teams answered each other offensively as each Valdez spike was met with an Oliveros attack. However, the Lady Agilas held on and finished the match at 19-17.

Valdez and Morente finished on top of the stat sheet with 23 and 20 points respectively in their losing effort. Ateneo’s 58-55 advantage in attack points won was not sufficient to remedy the 44 points they conceded via errors.

Tapic had the team-high for the Lady Agilas with 16. She was followed by Oliveros’ 14 points. May Shiel Agton registered 13, while Berte and Antipuesto notched 12 points each. - AMD, GMA News

P-2 for Match 32_ DAV-ADM by GMA News Online