By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY--With Ateneo facing elimination and Alyssa Valdez likely playing her final game in what has been a stellar UAAP women's volleyball career, the Queen Eagle put up a majestic performance similar to Kobe Bryant's farewell NBA game.
Valdez's explosion, however, was enough to keep her team in title contention.
The Lady Eagles rallied behind the open spiker's 34-point outburst as they came back from two sets down to pip the De La Salle Lady Spikers, 18-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 15-11, in Game 2 of the finals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday night to keep their hopes for a third straight championship alive.
With Ateneo on the verge of giving up their pennant to their rivals after conceding the first two sets although putting up a fight in the second frame, Valdez began taking over in the third set, leading the team to a 15-8 lead before her teammates, led by Jho Maraguinot and Amy Ahomiro, joined forces in stealing the set.
Valdez continued the charge in the fourth set even as La Salle's errors began piling up to give Ateneo an opportunity to send the match to a fifth set.
After a seesaw start to the deciding frame, Valdez and Maraguinot carried the fight for the Lady Eagles, while the Lady Spikers, who were still in the thick of things thanks to Kim Dy and Mika Reyes, committed two late errors, the last one effectively giving the Lady Eagles the match point.
Maraguinot added 19 markers, while Jia Morado dished out 70 excellent sets along with her four points, half on aces, for Ateneo, which tied the best-of-three series at 1-1 and forced the rubber match on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Dy finished with 16 points, while Reyes added 14 for La Salle, which failed in its first chance to reclaim the title they lost to Ateneo in 2014.
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