UAAP: With Final 4 streak over, what’s next for Ateneo?

MANILA — Ateneo de Manila University coach Oliver Almadro hopes that the Blue Eagles will maximize the opportunities that they get for the remainder of the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament.

This, after the Blue Eagles bowed out of contention for the Final 4 on Sunday. 

A loss to University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Saturday dropped Ateneo to 4-7 in the tournament and put them on the brink of elimination from the Final 4 race. Their fate was sealed when defending champion National University (NU) swept Far Eastern University (FEU) on Sunday.

This is the first time since Season 71 (2008-09) that Ateneo won’t play in the Final 4, marking the end of 11 consecutive appearances that includes three championships (Seasons 76-77, Season 81).

“We fully understand naman what’s in store and what’s happening,” Almadro said on Saturday, in the wake of the Blue Eagles’ 22-25, 20-25, 29-27, 21-25 defeat to the Golden Tigresses. 

“Sabi ko nga, this UAAP talagang lahat, nag-step up. Kami, medyo naging stagnant,” he admitted.

Ateneo has struggled on both ends of the floor in Season 85. As of Sunday they are ranked fifth in spiking, at 29.51%, sixth in digging (10.68 digs per set), and seventh in receiving (27.55%). 

Co-captain Faith Nisperos tried to carry them to victory against UST, ending up with 31 points, but they had little answer for Imee Hernandez (24 points) in the middle.

Almadro on Saturday said that he “will take the positives” from their game against UST, focusing on the grit shown by his players after they fell behind by two sets. They got clutch hits from Nisperos to steal the third, but UST proved too much in Set 4 with Hernandez rejecting Nisperos at the net to secure the win. 

“My players [played] with heart. Posible pala. They said na posible pala. We can give a game like this pala. We can challenge other teams pala. So I guess ‘yun ang na-realize ng bawat isa today,” said Almadro. “It just so happens na talagang gumagaling ‘yung ibang teams.”

“For me, my players really played their heart outs today. Meron talagang mga crucial breaks. We started slow, and then ‘pag naka-recover, we tend to end up waiting. But I will take the positives going into the next game, and in the near future also,” he added. 

“Hindi naman dito natatapos everything, lahat eh. So, whatever it is, we will do it all over again. Kumbaga, uulitin at uulitin. Uulit ulit next day, uulit ulit next game.”

Ateneo still has three matches left in their elimination round schedule — against FEU, De La Salle University, and defending champion NU.

Almadro is hopeful that in those matches, his players can display the kind of performance that they can build on for the future. 

“We have to realize na…