Day 178. It's Official!

The lazy one getting it done. 

Day 163. Finals Frenzy

With tomorrow being the start of our school’s finals period, the feeling of sense of urgency is definitely a must now. Being strongly influenced by the mañana habit from our Spanish ancestral colonizers, I’ve been relegating a lot of important activities until the foreseeable future. And scarily enough, my way of reasoning and persuading to get myself out of a current task has got a lot better every single day.

But you need to know when you have had enough of it already especially when you are close to a point where time is becoming more of an enemy than a friend. Thank you, deadline!

And so with roughly 4 weeks remaining in my time as an undergrad, I better work through my to-do list ASAP. Thankfully the weight of this burden is somewhat lighter than what I went through last finals. If I made it out alive then, I have the utmost confidence I’ll get through this soon. Graduation, here I come!

-Bli

Day 162. Cinderella Run Complete for the Lady Eagles

Queens of Volleyball. (c) Fabilioh

Exactly two weeks back I wrote about a quick story of underdogs in sports with the Ateneo Lady Eagles volleyball team of the local collegiate league UAAP at the top of my mind. And here we are, 14 days and 4 grueling championship games later, their unlikely trek to the top of the volleyball mountain is complete and have finally claimed the elusive title for the first time in school history.

Now the reason why I’m making a huge fuss about this on my column is because sports is a big part of my life (as does with every other guy in the world), and that this women’s volleyball team has almost had my entire attention over the course of the last 4 months, along with my Spurs basketball team and even more than my studies (advantage of not having a major subject for this current term).

Back to the story, this Ateneo team hasn’t had the odds in their favor all season. A team that is young and supposedly in rebuilding mode, these ladies have managed to surprise everyone beginning with their back-to-back upset victories of the number 2 team in NU during the step-ladder final four before setting up a clash with rivals De La Salle, a three-time consecutive champion who also had a thrice-to-beat advantage in the Finals.

Facing a daunting task of trying to beat the Archers thrice in the series compared to just only two for the latter, the Lady Eagles immediately erased whatever advantage La Salle had by winning Game 1, ending a mammoth 30-game winning streak for the Green side while Ateneo won its 8th consecutive. The Archers exacted revenge though in Game 2, turning the tables around by also winning in 4 sets and placing the Lady Eagles in a dire win or go home situation for the rest of the finals series. 

Game 2 was unbearable not only with the defeat, but also with apple of the eye Dennise Lazaro injuring her ankle in the 1st set.

Facing elimination for the 4th time in the playoffs in Game 3, Ateneo took charge winning the first two sets, this not only putting an end to the MOA Arena curse but also are on pace to extend the series. Yet La Salle would not go away as they dominated the next 2 sets forcing a deciding 5th set. In the last set, the Archers continued to ride on their momentum leading 12-8 in the crucial stages. But just like what they’ve been doing all season long the Lady Eagles fought back, outscoring the Archers 6-1 setting up match point at 14-13. La Salle showed their championship poise scoring the next two for championship point 15-14 before MVP Alyssa Valdez went for 2 consecutive kills followed with an error on the La Salle side which ended a thrilling match at 17-15 and a 3 sets to 2 win for the Blue to stay alive.

In the deciding 4th game, the Lady Eagles went off on a strong start, though needed a late rally for a 25-23 set 1 win. La Salle then went guns a blazing in set 2 leading by as much as 7 and a 24-21 lead in the latter stages. But Ateneo kept its composure and once again completed another improbable comeback, winning set 2 with a score of 26-24. 3rd set began tick for tack with neither team leading by more than a point. The Lady Eagles, not looking forward to a similar fate in Game 3, pulled away in the middle stages for a 19-11 lead and then held off a late scare from the Archers winning in straight sets 25-21 and the championship to the delight of the blue-laden crowd.

It was indeed one amazing journey for the Ateneo Lady Eagles. They defied the odds and surpassed everybody’s expectations, even their own. It is bitter-sweet though, thinking this success could have happened a year earlier with Fille Cainglet and the rest of the Fab 5 still around. I guess this is what happy, heart strong, meditation and coach Bundit’s dancing can really do. 

(c) www.fullcourtfresh.com

Congratulations again for a splendid campaign, ladies! And note to Den, please return for your final year, not that there’s any doubt but there’s no harm in trying to be sure. :>

-Bli

Day 148. Underdogs at it Again!

Who doesn’t love the story of underdogs? From the classic tale of David and the Goliath, we always feel some sympathy towards those who are underestimated, unappreciated and at a certain disadvantage. Oftentimes we have their backs, supporting them into achieving something many say they can’t. And when they come up on top at the end of the day, there’s always that feel-good moment to most of us.

There’s no other field that has plenty of underdog tales than the world of sports. Every game has their own back stories on the teams and/or players, and more often than not, each game isn’t a level-playing field. One side is going to have the shorter end of the stick and the majority will root for the underdogs, unless if the opponent is your favorite that is.

Earlier today I got a chance to experience that feel-good moment on the Ateneo-NU women’s volleyball playoff match, when the Lady Eagles survived all odds in securing their third-straight trip to the championship round. They were facing a clearly better team in all aspects of the game coupled with the fact that it’s a season of low expectations, yet they provided a stunner and will continue their Cinderella run. (Side note: rooted for Ateneo not because they aren’t the heavily-favored, but also since they are my favorite. Dream graduate school, FTW.)

Dennise Lazaro. Who wouldn't cheer for a team with this cutie on board? :>

Motivational moral in the entry- In a world filled with doubters and judgmental people, all one has to do is believe in his capability and never let their words get the best of you. Many have succeeded and many more have their sides on us underdogs.

P.S. Need to save up for those tickets on Wednesday. And Go Ateneo! :)

-Bli