MANILA, Philippines - Like in any other successful sporting campaign, Adamson leaned on the 3 Ds – desire, determination and discipline – to annex its second Shakey’s V-League crown Thursday.
But for good measure, it added another one – defense.
The Lady Falcons neutralized Thai import Jeng Bualee and the San Sebastian Lady Stags’ vaunted power game with their superb net and floor defense to prevail in their sudden death for the league’s Season 7 second conference crown at The Arena in San Juan.
What made the victory impressive was that they did it in three sets, 26-24, 25-17, 25-16, finally mastering the Stags after nipping them in three cliffhangers, including the series’ opener, 25-13, 25-17, 30-32, 21-25, 15-13.
The Lady Falcons also surprised the Stags with a new defensive weapon in libero Angelica Vasquez, who took over from multi-awarded defensive specialist Lizless Ann Gata and went on to bag the conference’s best digger honors.
“Our advice and continuous teaching bore fruit but I always believe in her abilities that’s why I put her in that position,” said Adamson coach Dulce Pante of Vasquez.
The team’s reinforcements also anchored the victory with former MVP Nerissa Bautista and Michelle Laborte providing the leadership and poise for a young team, particularly in those three five-setters against the Lady Stags.
“Masaya ako sa ipinakita nina Nene (Bautista) at Micmic (Laborte) sa buong tournament. Wala na akong mahihiling pa sa kanila (I’m happy for what they showed in the whole tournament. I couldn’t ask for more from them),” said Pante.
Others who also contributed to the Lady Falcons’ second championship in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza were mainstays Angela Benting, Pau Soriano, Gail Martin and setter Des Patilano.
Adamson said it will definitely go for a third crown next season with the team expecting to undergo some minor changes as it braces for the keenly-awaited return of six-time champion University of Santo Tomas to the country’s premier women’s volley league.
“Lalaban kami siyempre (We’ll be there fighting). Basta nandoon ang disiplina at determinasyon ng mga players ko sa bawat laro, may tsansa kami (As long as they play with discipline and determination, we’ll have a chance),” said Pante.
The Lady Falcons will have one month to savor the sweet taste of victory even as they hope to bring their winning form to next month’s UAAP women’s volley wars, where they expect to bump into the defending champion Tigresses.
“Yung panalo namin sa Shakey’s V-League, sana madala ang momentum nito going to the UAAP (We hope to carry the momentum of our victory in the Shakey’s V-League to the UAAP). Mabigat pa rin ang laban pero kaya naming siguro na makipagsabayan sa mga malakas na teams tulad ng UST, La Salle at Ateneo (It will be tough but I think we can match up with the top teams like UST, La Salle and Ateneo,” said Pante.