Monday, June 17, 2013

Hail to the Queens of UAAP 76!

This list is essentially based on who are the most important players in their own squads. The queens of their own kingdoms. These are the players whose absence might spell tragedy to their teams. These are the players whose name comes up first when someone mentions their team. So are you ready to meet the Queens of the UAAP 76 Volleyball teams? So bow or curtsy if you must, here we go:

Queen Spiker Abigail Maraño

Her fierceness and very strong leadership has helped her squad survive the several teams that challenged them in Season 75. UAAP 75 Best Blocker and Season Co-MVP plus UAAP 74 Season MVP. Need I say more? Her team of intimidating volleybelles like Galang and Reyes are still a shoo-in for the Finals. However, I don't think it will be as smooth as the past seasons. I guess they are working hard on their speed and blocking since they are clearly not the tallest team anymore.

Queen Bulldog Dindin Santiago

She carried her team to an amazing Final 4 entry in UAAP 75 and their first V-League championship with her very powerful and scary attacks. She was crowned as Best Scorer and Season MVP in the SVL 10. This girl made all the difference to the NU squad. I honestly think that with her leadership (and with the formidable trio of Jaja, Myla and Aiko), NU might be able to growl their way to the UAAP Finals in 76.

Queen Eagle Alyssa Valdez

UAAP 75 Best Scorer, SVL 10 Best Server, Finals MVP in SVL 9, and arguably the best open spiker in the country today, this girl is the obvious Queen in the Lady Eagle nest. But will she be able to carry the team on her wings to get a spot in the Finals again? Not easy to say. She will need excellent performance from Ahomiro, Patnongon and recruits like Gopico and Gequillana to do that. In fact, based on their V-league games, even with Alyssa on fire, the Ateneo girls will find it hard to defeat the Bulldogs. Remember, they lost to Dindin's squad even with Daquis, Bualee, Ferrer and Cainglet playing with them. 

Queen Falcon Shiela Pineda

She might be the shortest among the list of queens but she’s certainly equally powerful and important. With Pau Soriano leaving the Falcon’s nest, the UAAP 75 Best Server will be their most reliable scorer. She’ll also be playing in her final year this UAAP 76 so expect her to go all out! Together with Zapanta, Guevarra and key rookie Paat, they will be battling it out with UST to get a spot again in the Final Four.

UST Tiger Princesses

Forgive me but I really can’t choose one between Jessey De Leon, Carmela Tunay and Pam Lastimosa to be the next Queen Tiger. I still think Aiza Maizo hasn’t really transferred the crown to anyone yet. :D De Leon’s excellent blocking and timely quicks are vital in this team’s campaign. But so are the powerful hits of Lastimosa and Tunay. Lastimosa was even awarded as the Most Improved Player in V-League 10. And no, I’m not forgetting Maruja Banaticla. I hope with all my heart that she’ll play her best season this UAAP 76 since it’s her last. UST's non-entry to the Final Four last year must have really fired up this team. I'm sure they'll be doing everything they can to gain back their glory.

As for the other teams, I really don’t have a clear idea who their queens are yet  mainly because most of them are rebuilding. UP’s Bersola sure looks poised to be the next Queen Fighting Maroon and UE’s Dawis still seems to be the Queen Warrior. As for FEU, as of now, I believe Gyselle Sy is their best bet for Queen.

Do you have other worthy queens in mind? Share them in the comment section! :D

(all photos were grabbed from the web.)

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