The Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles — National University Lady Bulldogs match earlier today provided some of the most frantic sequences of the season. As the dust settled, the Lady Eagles had not only lost, but also looked drained after giving up errors that cost them the match.
For several reasons, Ateneo middle hitter Bea De Leon was just glad that the match, and the rough stretch of four games in 11 days, was finally over.
The Lady Eagles lost both of their regular season matches to the Lady Bulldogs — the first time the spikers from Loyola Heights have lost an elimination round series in three years.
“I think it was more of us. We had a lot of errors on service and a lot of our spikes were going out. Okay lang. It was more of us,” De Leon, who tallied 13 markers in the contest, told Tiebreaker Times.
“Siyempre it’s an improvement,” the third-year Atenean cited, as they had lost in five sets this time compared to four during their first round encounter.
“Sabi nga ni coach Tai [Bundit], if ever, panalo na kami next time.”
De Leon also lamented the rough schedule of the team. During the last 11 days, they have faced Final Four contenders in four consecutive matches, while their lead-up against NU was hindered by midterm exams.
Still, De Leon does not want to use fatigue as an excuse, recognizing that all student-athletes go through the same rigors.
“There’s no big concern, really. Even though we lost to them again, it’s a good chance for us to improve and adjust. That [schedule] was hard,” the 20-year-old shared.
“[Personally] I’m so exhausted, but you can never make it an actual excuse.
“It was a factor, a pretty big factor. We haven’t done weights in a while which has affected the power of our spikes but, in the end, it’s always about pushing yourself,” she furthered.
On Sunday, the Lady Eagles start the lightest stretch of their season, facing the winless Adamson University Lady Falcons; they then have a near one-week break before facing the seventh-placed University of the East Lady Warriors. They cap their elimination round with a pivotal tiff against the De La Salle University Lady Spikers.
“[Playing again on Sunday] is kind of a break. But we’ll see it through. Kami pa,” she asserted.
