After dispatching La Salle in two straight ties, Ateneo is off to the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Badminton Finals against UP on Wednesday, October 14, 2015, in the Rizal Memorial Badminton Center.
Ateneo needed two straight ties to advance to the finals due to the twice-to-beat advantage earned by La Salle, who finishied second in the elimination round. Before their ties against La Salle, Ateneo had to beat FEU in a playoff tie 3-1 to determine who would advance to the next round.
UP awaits Ateneo in the finals with the Lady Maroons looking to take advantage of a thrice-to-beat advantage over the Lady Eagles. In this scenario, UP needs to win two of their ties, while Ateneo has to win three.
This season’s finals encounter is a repeat of last season’s, not only in terms of who made it, but also in circumstances. Back in UAAP Season 77, UP swept all their elimination round fixtures and beat Season 76 champions, Ateneo, in two straight ties.
The Lady Eagles almost prevented a UP sweep in this Season 78, narrowly losing to UP, 2-3, in the last tie of both schools before the Final Four.
“Stay strong and laban lang tuloy-tuloy. Even at times when the opponents are leading, focus on the game and not at the score”, said Ateneo coach Kennie Asuncion-Robles to her players in their pre-game talk. Not one to be fazed regarding the difficulties Ateneo has to face in reaching their goal of reclaiming that championship, Asuncion-Robles reminds her players to keep it one game at a time.
Making it to the finals against UP is an achievement of which Asuncion-Robles is proud of. “They showed a lot of grit. They showed a lot of heart all throughout whether leading or humahabol. Parang they were set for one thing which was to win the games.”
It doesn’t matter what UAAP event is being played, athletes will go the extra mile in a Final Four fixture. Ateneo was no different, as they had to beat two strong contenders to make it into the finals. Mental and physical toughness were on display every time the Lady Eagles went to play. Maximum effort was needed by the Lady Eagles if they wanted to survive every single tie. “We’ve trained so hard for this so parang talagang all out na eh. Give it everything you’ve got”, surmised Asuncion-Robles.
UP will be tough foe for Ateneo, more so now with that thrice-to-beat advantage of theirs in the Finals. Asuncion-Robles doesn’t mind, nor her Lady Eagles. Injuries and step-ladder ties may have taken their toll, but the Lady Eagles have shown the One Big Fight needed to go all the way. “With the same determination and heart. Heartstrong. Definitely they’re on a high and we want to keep it that way. We want to keep that spirit going so we keep on moving. “
