The AdU vs. DLSU game will be interesting of course but we
already saw them play against each other in the Unigames. Unless Pineda and the
other tough Lady Falcons will bring out something new, Maraño and the fierce
Lady Spikers already have it in the bag.
The more exciting game of course is the ADMU vs. NU game.
And I’m not just saying that because I’m an ADMU fan.
Reasons?
First, both teams have suffered some key losses. Ateneo
lost the famed Fab 5 while NU lost Nepomuceno (who wasn’t really much of a big
scorer but was the team’s "ate" and very reliable clutch player) and of course,
the outstanding and almost legendary libero, Jen Reyes.
Secondly, the teams also have some important additions. Of
course, NU has the popular sister of their team captain Dindin and the tallest
girl in the league, Jaja Santiago. On the other hand, Ateneo has acquired several promising rookies like Ana Gopico who has been coughing out Valdez-like points
in some of their tune-up games; Julia Morado who is actually a tall setter (5’7”);
and Kim Gequillana who, fans say, plays like Gervacio.
Third, they are both very mysterious. Many people including
me expected a DLSU-NU finals showdown in the Unigames in Bacolod. But lo and
behold, we saw DLSU settling for 3rd place and NU nowhere in the top
4. I saw a few video of the matches and found NU’s floor defense very scrappy. Yeah,
yeah many blame it on the setter Ivy Perez but I think a developing setter will
be able to perform better if she was given good second balls. Obviously, even their
four incredible attackers (Dindin, Jaja,
Pablo and Aiko) weren’t able to deliver well because of bad floor defense that
worsened Ivy’s setting.
ADMU on the other hand didn’t join Unigames so aside from
tiny bits of fan videos of their training, not a lot of people have seen them play. Ergo, very few people know how good they are now. True, ADMU lost to NU in the V-league first conference but at that
time, NU had veteran setter Rubie de Leon and prolific libero Jen Reyes.
OK. Let’s try to make some wild predictions of who will play
better.
Middles: Ateneo's Ana Gopico (5'10) and Mae Tajima (6'2) vs
NU's Dindin Santiago (6'2) and Jaja Santiago (6'5). No question. The Santiagos
will prevail. Gopico, they say, is very talented but the Santiagos, especially
Dindin, will eat her alive. Tajima hopefully will factor in. Hopefully.
Open Hitters: Ateneo's Alyssa Valdez and Kim Gequillana vs
NU's Myla Pablo and Carmina Aganon. Another no brainer. Even without the
rumored foot injury, Pablo will still not beat Valdez. Nuff said. As for
Gequillana vs. Aganon, I think Mina will perform better. She has shown some
great talent in the V-league as replacement for Nepomuceno. Her experience with
crowds will be a plus.
Setters: Ateneo's Julia Morado (5'7) vs NU's Ivy Perez
(5'9). Tall setters here. Nice. But who will play better? Considering
experience and playing time with the team, my money is on Ivy Perez. For now.
Morado seems to have real talent but we haven’t seen her play under huge
pressure or in front of a huge booing crowd.
Liberos: Ateneo's Denden Lazaro vs NU's Fatima General.
Lazaro FTW! Despite having some rumored “difficulties” with boyfriend Myco
Antonio, I think the prettiest libero in UAAP will fare better than NU’s General. Based on the Unigames videos, she is no Jen Reyes. Yet.
Utility players: Ateneo's Kiwi Ahomiro vs NU's Aiko Urdas. Although
Aiko Urdas was ROY last season and was great in the V-League, she didn’t really
have much effect in the Unigames. Meanwhile, Ahomiro might not have been
exposed much last year (because Gervacio was too good to be subbed), but she
played really high quality minutes. Experience and past games considered, this
one goes to Urdas for now.
Coach: No. I’m not even going to comment about the coaches.
LOL. But I’m really excited to see how ADMU’s Thai coach will be on the court. Mabbayad
of course already has a championship under his belt when he coached the Lady
Bulldogs to V-League championship earlier this year.
In conclusion, I’m clueless as to who will win. Individual
player comparison seems to be a little bit on the NU side. But UAAP is not just about
that. The crowd, the pressure, the nerves. These 3 factors have led to many
unexpected game results in the past years. And after that FEU win over DLSU in
the Unigames, I think it has become even more difficult to predict game results for the UAAP volleyball matches this year. At
least for the 1st round.
Comments?
P.S.
I hate scalpers. I hate seeing empty seats in the arena, seats
that most probably have been bought by scalpers who are still looking for
unlucky fans who are willing to buy them for ridiculous prices. Why don’t the
organizers just sell 1 ticket per person on game day? Just before the audience
will enter the arena. And to avoid long lines of angry fans, they can set up what,
5 or more ticket booths. It will ensure
that 1 sold ticket = 1 audience member. No more empty seats, no more
overpriced tickets, and there’ll be more people watching live.
