Saturday, March 14, 2015

DLSU Lady Spikers settle for 2nd again

The DLSU Lady Spikers settle for second place for the second year in a row. losing once again to the Ateneo Lady Eagles.



Ateneo have been the clear frontrunners this season, being the defending champions, keeping last year's team intact (none of them graduated) and adding even more key players to their roster. However, La Salle did show signs that they may possibly challenge Ateneo for the trophy. While they didn't win against Ateneo during the eliminations, both games were very close and could have gone either way. In DLSU's do-or-die game against NU before the finals, Kim Fajardo seemed to be distributing the ball well and Cyd Demecillo seemed to be hitting the ball a lot more aggressively. I felt throughout this season that those two things need to happen for La Salle to score the upset and seeing them perform that way going into the finals was giving me hope.

Unfortunately, a terrible blow hit DLSU towards the end of that do-or-die game against NU. Team captain Ara Galang landed badly on her knee, resulting in serious injury. The diagnosis: torn ACL, MCL and medial meniscus and a big bone bruise. The seriousness of this injury meant that she would not be able to play against ADMU in the finals. In fact, it may take her up to 8 months to recover. (Such sad news, the Asian Games is in June and that would have been a great opportunity for her to play for the Philippines.)

Ara's absence meant that La Salle's firepower was now seriously compromised, what with her being the team's top scorer (and one of the top scorers of the entire league). The Lady Spikers fought valiantly and tried their best but it wasn't enough against a well-rounded and confident team led by 2-time MVP and 3-time top scorer Alyssa Valdez. (Check out Ai Ai de las Alas cheering the team up in an impromptu post-game meet-and-greet!)

It also didn't help DLSU that they were plagued with other injuries this year: Desiree Cheng suffered an MCL tear during the season, alternate setter Mika Esperenza had an ACL tear that kept her off the court even before the season started, and on game 1 of the finals, Camille Cruz suffered an ACL and LCL injury as well. This year has really not been good for DLSU. Not to say that La Salle would have won without these injuries - Ateneo would still have been the top seed and favorite to win - but it would have been nice to see both teams slug it out in the final with a full and healthy roster. (Side note: my favorite photos this season are that of Mika Reyes giving Camille Cruz a piggyback ride to the dugout after she injured her knee.)



Despite the second-place finish, it was still a very good season for La Salle who have now reached the finals for the sixth straight year. A couple of the younger players like Eli Soyud and Mary Joy Baron are showing a lot of promise. Hopefully they can do well again next year (and who knows, maybe they can even take it a step further in season 78). Thank you Lady Spikers!
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