After suddenly losing several key players to graduation, injury, and academic difficulty, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles were — to say it lightly — not expected to make the UAAP Season 80 Women’s Volleyball Final Four.
After an 0-2 start, it seemed highly likely that the Lady Eagles would miss the Final Four after appearing in the Finals for six straight seasons.
Since that horrendous beginning, Ateneo won nine of their next 10 matches. Their ninth win — a five-setter over the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses — officially landed then in the Final Four for the ninth straight year.
Behind their win over UST was the resurgent Kat Tolentino.
The Filipino-Canadian’s slow start seems to be well behind her, as she scored a game-high 21 points against their España-based counterparts.
Asked whether she was motivated by the bashers, Tolentino shrugged off the notion. If anything, she’s more inspired by the bond she shares with her teammates.
“For me it’s each other (who motivates me),” said the open hitter, who is the Wednesday’s SMART Sports Player of the Day. “We’ve all had our doubts, and I think just with this team, we’re super close and we really trust in each other, and it’s okay if others maybe doubt us.
“But as long as we believe in each other, and as long as we believe in Coach Tai [Bundit] and the system, there’s no stopping us.”
As Tolentino’s co-captain Maddie Madayag insisted, the Lady Eagles would rather think of Ateneo and their legions of supporters than their detractors.
“We don’t really play for other people. We play for our school, we play for ourselves.
“So, it’s not… parang okay we proved them wrong. Sorry sa inyo kasi you doubted us. I guess ‘yun na lang, watch us this season na lang and look how we play,” the middle blocker added.
Now that they are in the Final Four, the Lady Eagles are not content. The mission is now to bag a twice-to-beat advantage.
“Hungry pa rin. It made us hungrier. We’re not okay with this.”
