Game Two of the Finals: the Ateneo Lady Eagles just let a 24-20 lead slip away to give up the second set and a two-set lead to the De La Salle University Lady Spikers.
Ateneo had not won a set in the Finals. Any other individual would have crumbled. Any other player would have melted under the pressure and surrendered the championship.
But Ateneo had three-time MVP Alyssa Valdez – a superheroine who masquerades as a volleyball player.
Playing out her last year in the Ateneo blue and white, Valdez summoned a performance for the ages. She plowed through the La Salle defense and, more importantly, led the Lady Eagles to decisive set wins in the next three frames.
The Batangueña compiled a season-high 34 points on 32 hits and two aces. During a stretch in the fifth set, when La Salle was preparing to pounce, Valdez put away five consecutive hits to put the match out of reach.
Valdez realized her team direly needed her. She did not want her last match to end with a ho-hum loss to a hungrier team.
“Super bait lang ni Lord na binigyan niya kami ng chance manalo pa ulit. Winning is not just about winning. After winning there’s responsibilities. Pagbalik on Saturday, kailangan namin kalimutan yung win today,” an emotionally and physically drained Alyssa Valdez told the media after the match.
Valdez is used to this kind of pressure. 
In Season 76, she powered the Lady Eagles through five do-or-die matches to clinch Ateneo’s first ever volleyball title. Basically, Valdez lives for these moments.
“Game Three na ‘to. Mind over matter na ‘to. Kahit masakit, kahit anong meron, lalaban ka lang,” she expressed.
When her team needed a push in the fifth set, Ateneo setter Jia Morado knew to give it to the best player in the country. Multiple blocker be damned, this was Alyssa’s team. If Ateneo was going down, it had to be in Alyssa’s terms.
“Kapag andoon ka na, fifth set, wala nang maiisip – papaluin mo na lang yung bola. Kapag titingin pa ako sa likod ko, nadoon pa yung teammates ko – sobrang sarap lang sa pakiramdam. Wala na akong mahihiling pa,” Valdez said, describing her gallant stand. “Everyone asks for the ball naman – it’s Jia’s decision to who she gives the ball to. I’m just really lucky na napapatay yung bola kapag binibigay sa akin.”
There’s no escaping it now – Game Three on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum will be Valdez’s last match in the UAAP. 
Valdez was emotionally prepared heading into Game Two. Saturday will be no different for the Phenom.
“You have to be ready sa kahit anong bagay. It’s really heartfelt lalo na kapag yung team lumalaban lang, wala ka nang excuse kung hindi lumaban lang. Alam mo yung kinikilabutan ka kapag nakikita mo everyone’s fighting with you. At the end of today, it’s not the end of the UAAP, we’ll see you on Saturday,” she closed.
Alyssa Valdez’s Game Two performance is one of those moments fans and scribes romanticize for future generations.
