The Ateneo Women’s Football Team has been steadily improving in the past three years and former player turned assistant coach Gely Tiu is delighted to witness the rise of Ateneo football following a decent third place finish in the PFF Women’s Cup.
“This Ateneo [team] is a far cry from the Ateneo that I had when I was still playing, so I’m really happy with the improvement and the continuous development,” Tiu remarked after seeing Ateneo come back and secure a win against the UST Lady Booters. The former Ateneo goalkeeper also thought that the team’s enormous character enabled them to emerge victorious in the end. “Lumaban sila hanggang sa last minute nakuha nila ‘yun. Talagang hindi nila pinakawalan so that’s what I appreciate with the girls,” she stated.
Indeed, Ateneo had been a gritty unit throughout the tournament. After a ragged start, the Lady Eagles came back to defeat GAU Women in the final group stage match to claim a semifinal slot by finishing second in Group A. A week after, they held firm for most of the match against rivals DLSU in the semifinals, only to be outdone by late goal scored by Lasallian Chelo Hodges late in the game. Faced with a deficit in a game against fellow UAAP team UST, they did not let the chance of ending the tournament in a high slip. “I-all out mo na kasi kumbaga this is the last game that they will play for this tournament and if they don’t give it their all then wala,” Tiu recalled in reminding her team.
It was not all positive feedback from the ex-Ateneo captain who identified a few things her team should work on before the UAAP Season begins. One was shortage in confidence, which Tiu thinks was caused by a couple of injuries to their goalkeepers early in the match. The lack in confidence was reflected by the way they committed mistakes, some of which almost cost them the game. “We have a lot of things to work on pa. For me, ang ganda ng game nila pero madaming lapses so ‘yung lapses na yun yung kailangan namin i-work on, defense wise especially,” she emphasized. Another thing they need to focus on, according to her, is finishing their chances more ruthlessly.
On a personal note, Tiu handled the team in a match for the first time. Visibly happy with how it turned out, the Ateneo assistant coach is not ruling out a chief role on the bench in the future. “Undecided but it might be, could be,” she suggested with a smile.
With a former player a key person in Ateneo’s coaching staff, the Lady Eagles appeared galvanized by her influence. As Tiu performs her duty on the bench, she may well be looking forward to contribute towards the success of the Ateneo women’s football program, which many come any time soon.
