The V-league Finals: A Fan's Analysis

Okay. Let’s start with some interesting things I observed.

First, scalpers. They were literally everywhere outside Ultra. What happened? It seemed like there more than thirty scalpers who were holding more than twenty tickets each. SM Tickets must come up with ways to avoid this. Fans ended up paying 1000 pesos for the 300-peso tickets. Not cool.

Second, NU T-shirts. I was quite happy to see some fans wearing NU shirts with their idols’ names on the back. They were still a small minority compared to the hundreds of Ateneo fans wering ADMU shirts. But hey that's a huge step.

Third, celebrities! Okay, I was only able to spot one personally. It was Anjo Yllana and his family. However, many former UAAP stars also made the event more interesting. Michelle Gumabao was there and many of the ex-Ateneo players like Ho, Gervacio, Acevedo and Soriano. I also saw some men’s volleyball players like Peter Torres and even some basketball superstars (which I don’t know the names.)

AdU versus UST

I was quite puzzled why Maizo didn’t play. However, I was surprised at how well the Tigresses were able to win convincingly without her. Well, I respect UST, how talented their players are and how well they played earlier. But I think it was more of the AdU Lady Falcons doing themselves in. Lebumfacil? She was playing badly at the start, worse in the middle and worst at the end of the game. What happened to Listana?

Adamson’s notorious floor defense was obviously missing. I felt really bad for Pau Soriano, Benting, Pineda, Guevarra and Zapanta who played really well. I even saw Lebumfacil crying after they lost. I don’t think it’s her fault though. Nobody wants to lose. But I guess it’s the coach’s mistake. He gave her too many chances. She was obviously not in the zone, why let her play the entire game? 

ADMU vs. NU

Okay, hooray for the fans of both squads! Nice presence today. There was still booing but what I noticed was, it was already coming from BOTH sides. Not cool again. Anyway, the good thing is, the players seemed to be oblivious to the boos already. It’s like they don’t give a damn anymore. Nice!

Next, the referee. Damn! What’s wrong with the referee? There were SO MANY wrong calls. I could forgive the ones in the first, second and third sets. However, in the tight and well-contested fourth, I think those wrong calls were really outrageous! Technically, ADMU should have won the fourth set already if the referee was paying more attention. We could have had a really great fifth set and an epic victory moment for the winning team.

I believe the Referee just stole that sweet, clean victory from NU. Sure NU won. But they will have to deal with people saying they won “because of the referee” which is a really sad thing since they really deserved the win.

As an Ateneo fan, I was really disappointed with how they played in the first two sets. I have already accepted by the end of the second set that they were gonna lose. But then, they came alive in the third set thanks to Valdez and Tejada. The fourth set was an emotional rollercoaster. And it ended with a heart-breaking loss.

I could have accepted the defeat more easily if there were no wrong calls from the referee (again) but yeah, I also believe that even without the “referee factor”, NU could have  won.

So moving on now. I am very happy for Dindin Santiago. I understand how much pressure was on her shoulders to pay back all the things that NU has invested on her. She deserves the MVP trophy and the Championship crown. She obviously poured out her everything in this conference. De Leon also deserves a huge bonus from the NU staff. She was the glue that held the team together and the supporting actress that allowed the lead stars to shine.

As for the Lady Eagles, I know this must be really tragic, being 1^st runner-up twice this year. First in the UAAP, and now in the V-league. I guess this is a wake-up call to Coach Roger and the ADMU volleyball staff. They have to stop “kinda” wanting to win. They must do everything possible to strengthen the team if they really want to stay relevant. These excuses about “being student first before an athlete” or “how hard the ACET is” or “how they have no time for practice”, won’t be able to give them championships. It’s either they approach the UAAP and V-league with a “we-will-win-no-matter-what” attitude or they should just be contented with a slot in the middle of the team rankings.

The NU team that defeated them will be almost the same team that they will fac in UAAP 76. Only De Leon and Reyes will be missing. But for Ateneo, the Daquis-Bualee-Cainglet-Ferrer quartet will not be in their line-up when they face the Bulldogs again in the UAAP. Scary. Really scary.

So yeah, that caps the 2012-2013 volleyball school year. Whether we had the ending that we wanted, it’s nice to know that fans from all teams can share 2 happy endings, the incredible increase in the popularity of the sport and all the great players who played in front of us.