Opening weekend continues for the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, with Shaina Nitura and the Adamson Lady Falcons turning the tables on the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
The rookie-laden Adamson Lady Falcons bucked opening day jitters to upset the Ateneo Blue Eagles 21-25, 20-25, 25-12, 25-15, 15-13 in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball opening weekend at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Sunday.
Sunday’s win serves as a good foundation for the new-look Falcons, who will now be led by homegrown juniors’ star Shaina Nitura. It was a massive show of girt for the San Marcelino-based squad, who dug deep from a mediocre showing in Sets 1 and 2.
With that, here’s three highlights from the San Marcelino-based squad’s impressive reverse sweep.
Shaina Nitura has arrived
Homegrown rookie Nitura was a name to watch throughout the Season 87 offseason, being a one-time juniors’ champion and Most Valuable Player. On Sunday, she was quick to prove why she’s been labeled as a super rookie heading into this year’s Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Nitura finished with a historic 33 points, surpassing UST Golden Tigress Angge Poyos’ rookie record of 31 markers in Season 86 against the UE Lady Warriors. The 19-year-old Nitura picked up the pace in Set 3 following a modest opening act in Sets 1 and 2. From there, it was no way but up for the super rookie, who connived with foreign student athlete Frances Mordi to complete their comeback bid.
Nitura, though, was modest about her historic performance after the game.
“Hindi po ako naglo-look forward for anything na ganoon po, bonus nalang po ‘yun. Pero syempre, Thankful po, praise the Lord. Di pa po tapos ‘yung season and we want more for the team, not individually but for the team. Nakatikim kami ng isang panalo and we’re gonna be hungry for more,” she said.
Don’t forget about their other additions
But apart from Nitura, we shouldn’t forget about Mordi, who acted as a second option to Nitura in the five-set affair. The FSA was also important in keeping the Lady Falcons in the game, finishing with 23 points as a sparkplug especially in Set 3.
“First of all, I would say thank you to Lord, because it’s not easy. We played a really strong team, but it was a very slow start for us as well, but we were able to come up and believe in ourselves. Patience as well, ” she said postgame.
“For set 3, Coach [JP] Yude was always telling me to believe in myself and the team. So I believed it wasn’t over yet, I believe we could do something so we just trusted ourselves and helped ourselves as well,” Mordi said of her Set 3 performance.
Head coach Yude heaped praise on their new FSA, especially given her and the team’s struggles leading up to the game.
“Kay Frances, kita ko talaga ‘yung potential ng batang ‘yan but I can also see the lack of confidence, but I always really push her na maging…’yung tapang and courage niya pa sa paglalaro so that na ‘yung pinaka the best niya ‘yung mapakita niya palagi.”
Then there’s Fhey Sagaysay, whose setting also began to click as the game progressed. It was through her that Mordi and Shaina Nitura begun tearing through the Ateneo defense, which resulted in 10 excellent sets in the two hour and 19-minute contest.
“Sobrang thankful po ako kasi ‘yun nga po, ako po ‘yung papahirapan nila, na kung sino ‘yung bibigyan ng bola. Willing naman ako mag-adjust and it’s a challenge for me [to activate the Falcons’ offense],” Sagaysay said of the Nitura and Mordi-led offense.
This Ateneo team has potential, but…
Ateneo, meanwhile, looked on pace to sweep the Falcons, with senior AC Miner showing tons of potential as a converted wing spiker. But by Set 3, it seemed like the Blue Eagles’ offense went stagnant, with the sets to Miner and spiker Lyann de Guzman already being checked by the Lady Falcons.
And from here, it was all downhill with much of the Blue Eagles’ points coming from Adamson’s unforced errors.
While there’s no denying the potential of this core, it’s also hard not to notice how they struggled to close out a possible sweep to open their second year under Sergio Veloso.
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.