3PEAT!!!

Need I say more? The De La Salle University Lady Spikers just bagged their third straight championship for the UAAP Women's Volleyball Tournament. They won in just 3 sets! What a way to win right? I'm so proud to be a Lasallian right now. Well, ever since actually. It just heightened my proud feelings for the team and the whole school. If you noticed, I've been blogging about the Lady Spikers for quite some time now. I think I had two straight blogs about them. This would be my third straight blog about them. Haha! What a coincidence :) Three straight blogs for the 3PEAT! Natawa lang ako =)) Sakto :)

I'm really happy for their win. They really were the best. No doubt about that. Puso kung puso. They never showed any signs of giving up. That isn't in their vocabulary. They truly played with all their heart that's why they bagged the championship title for the third straight time. And, I'm sure it will be a 4peat next season. Hihi. Claiming it for them =))

Again, I'm so proud of the team. Nge, parang close kami ah haha! But seriously, they all did great. So proud of the best blocker, Aby Maraño. Definitely the best! And...She is really a great team captain. She never gets tired of inspiring her teammates and letting them know that they can do it. I love how she love her teammates and the game itself. To her co-MVP, Ara Galang, who is one of my favorite players, she did an excellent job! I'm super duper proud of this girl. From being a Rookie of the Year last season to an MVP this season. Wow! Just wow. Excited to see her play again next season. To Michelle Gumabao, who is the Finals MVP, another job well done. She's really a great volleyball player plus a lot of people admires her for the beauty she has. Next, to Kim Fajardo, who did an excellent job in setting the ball, congratulations! She was great the entire season. Mika Reyes was superb in yesterday's game! Woah! Ang galing mo girl!!! When she hits the ball, everything seems so easy. If there's a dunk in basketball, I believe Mika Reyes just made it possible for volleyball as well. I can't get over with how great she plays. And, just like Michelle Gumabao, a lot of people admires her for the beauty she has. Even girls admire her. She's actually my girl crush hahaha! Not just because of her beauty but because of her talent :) Next, how can I forget my favorite setter, Mika Esperanza. :)) I really admire her 'coz you can see that she loves what she's doing. Every time you see her, she's smiling. That's the main thing I liked about Mika Esperanza. Even though she did not play for a long period of time yesterday, I'm still proud of what she did. She was able to set good plays and... block! She was brought back to the game on the latter part of the first set when the Lady Eagles' score came closer. I believed that she pumped up the team and was able to set up good plays and for their last point, she was able to block! Loved that block ❤ Mika Esperanza will always be one of my favorite players :) Hoping that she'll have longer playing time next season.

Of course, how can I forget the two graduating players from the Lady Spikers, Wensh Tiu and Melissa Gohing. I admit that at first I didn't know Wensh Tiu, I thought that she was just new in the team but later on I realized that she's a transferee from Dasma. So, that's why I didn't know her that much. Anyway, Wensh Tiu was really great this season. She is not afraid to attack which was a great thing. That really helped the team. She was excellent this season, really excellent. She gave all her best for her last playing year. Last but definitely not the least, Melissa Gohing, who is always great in what she does. She's the kind of player who never gives up and that's evident every time she chases the ball just to save it. She rolls, dives, she does everything just to save the ball. All credits given to this girl. She really plays with all her heart. To the two graduating players, thank you for the five years you spent with DLSU. Animo! Good luck to your future careers :) CONGRATULATIONS!!!

And, we shouldn't forget the man behind the success of these girls, Coach Ramil De Jesus. No doubt that he is a great coach. He knows what's good for the team and I like that he trusts his girls and makes them shine on their own. He never fails to guide the team and I'm sure that he is the number one fan of the girls. :) To their coach, good job! Let's go for a 4peat next year hahaha!

I may not be a fan of the sport from the very start but at least now I can proudly say that I am a fan :) For three years now. :) I wish I could play the sport as great as them but that'll just be a wish :))

Congratulations as well to the Ateneo Lady Eagles for a great fight. =) Congratulations to the Fab5.

Again and again, congratulations to the DLSU Lady Spikers! Ang sarap maging Lasalista! :) Animo!!!

Aww. Aby Maraño, Melissa Gohing and Michelle Gumabao in tears.
Credits to The Lasallian.

THREE-PEAT CHAMPIONS.

The two MVPs. Aby Maraño and Ara Galang. Cute =)

Archers :)

Animo!

CHAMPION!

Gohing of DLSU & Ferrer of ADMU.

Thank you Melissa Gohing!

They all look so happy. Gohing & Tiu were in tears. They're graduating :(
*Ang cool ni Cyd Demecillo hahaha.

YES. 3PEAT.

:)

So proud of this girl even if we don't personally know each other.
So, just please tell her that. Haha!
From Rookie of the Year to MVP!

Aby and Ara =)

The ever smiling Mika Esperanza.
You'll always be my favorite setter :) Tell her that! Hahaha!
And Justine Tiu, one of those players who we'll be seeing a lot next season.

Aby Maraño, ang reyna ng clips. Chos :)
Haha! Congrats team captain. =))
MVP na, best blocker pa!

Mika Reyes :) So cute. So young but so tall. Hahaha!
Galing mo talaga girl!!!

Epic reaction by Michelle Gumabao, the Finals MVP. :)

I just have to share this tweet. Haha. Cute :) Block to block to block :)

Sweet :) They're hugging their coach :)

Reaction of Esperanza =) Will forever love this. Haha :))

#REPEATTHE3PEAT!
DONE!

Go Mika :)

Cute lang ng reaction ni Ara =)

Aw. Thank you Wensh Tiu. 

Coach Ramil :)

emotions... :(

Mika and Coach :))))

Awww... HUG :)

Again, thank you Melissa Gohing!

CHAMPIONS BLEED GREEN.

ANIMO LA SALLE! 4PEAT next season? Why not? I'm definitely excited =))

And, congratulations to all the DLSU athletes! 

DLSU is the UAAP GENERAL CHAMPIONS!!!

Credits to the respective owners of the photos above. The Lasallian and Go Archers :)

#BlockParty.

#BlockParty. This actually trended last Saturday, February 9 during the DLSU-ADMU volleyball game. I was lucky enough to witness it live for the second time around. For the first round, I was able to watch the game at Fil-oil Flying V Arena in San Juan and on the second round it was already held at the MOA Arena. There were so many people who watched their first round match, there were even people who are seated on the staircase and there were a lot of people who were standing. I guess that's the reason why they moved the venue to MOA Arena which is way way bigger. But even if it's already a big venue, there were still a lot of people who were standing during the game. A total of 19, 638 people were there. Yes, I know the exact number hahaha! Thanks to the replay of the game last Wednesday, I was able to watch the game again and was able to listen to the commentators :)) So, why am I making this blog post? Well, I really enjoy watching volleyball games. It was actually two years ago when I became a fan of the sport. And because of that, I wanna learn how to play the sport well. Volleyball, what have you done to me? Hahahaha! Yup, I'm serious with that :)) Maybe one of these days I'll practice playing volleyball. =) 

Anyway, the real reason why I'm blogging about the game last week. I was so amazed with the Lady Spikers. Really. They were so great. They may have some errors but still, they won in three awesome sets. In this blog post I'll actually go into some of the details of the game. Naks =)) Feeling expert hahaha :)) But seriously, the things that I would be posting were observations from the game and again, thanks to the replay I was able to really observe. 'Coz when I was in the arena I was just cheering haha =)) 

During the replay of the game in Studio 23 I was able to watch the game with the side comments of the commentator, the court side reporters and even some of the fans. I was also able to listen to the interview of Michelle Gumabao before the game started and I really liked what she said about the attitude of the Lady Spikers. She said that having that "Lady Spiker Swag" is really important in their game. And I absolutely agree with that. It's part of the game. It's not being boastful or what, it's just, you know a part of the game. :)) I can't really explain it. But you gotta admit, you love their swag. :) According to the experts of the game, sometimes they need to have that "angst" :)))

For that game, they were trying to compare Galang from DLSU and Valdez from ADMU. That was there ideal match up for the game. I'm not really a fan of Valdez but there is no doubt that she can really hit the ball hard. But there are times wherein you don't need to do that. Sometimes she forgets about that. Sorry to the fans of Valdez out there. And...there's just something about her that I don't really like. Again, sorry. That's just my opinion. So, let's go to Galang. Ara Galang is one of my favorite players not just because she's from DLSU but because she's really great. She's just a sophomore but she does play well. She's actually part of the top 10 in 4 out of 6 categories. The only categories she's not part of are digging and setting and that's because she's not a libero or a setter. That's how flexible Ara Galang is. And, I also like that she's a smart player. She doesn't just hit the ball hard, she makes sure that it would be the right thing to do 'coz sometimes you can do the drop ball or do an off speed attack. That's how Ara Galang plays, she thinks during her attacks.

Ara Galang :)

Mika Reyes.

I also would like to commend other players from DLSU like Mika Reyes, she's also one of my favorite players. Not just the way she plays but also because of her attitude. Some might misinterpret it as being boastful but she's not. Again, it's part of the game. I love how she does the stare downs. She's a great blocker and she has all the reason to do that hahaha! The best moment for me during that game would be when Reyes blocked Valdez. That was a great block. Plus the stare down. Actually, she had a couple of  blocks for Valdez. =)) hahaha. Loved that :) I'll always love the attitude of Reyes :)

Michelle Gumabao showing some intensity :)

the captain, Abigail Marano.

The best player for that game was Michelle Gumabao. She was definitely great during the game. She is indeed a great blocker but she also did well on the offense, she had a couple of great attacks and service aces as well. She was great. :) Abigail Marano was also great. She always shows how effective of a leader she is. She never fails to tell her teammates to always do their and focus. You'll always hear her say that. By the way, Marano is the #1 best blocker in the league :)) And, can I just say...I love her clips hahaha. Trademark of Marano =)) Another player that was great was Wensh Tiu, she is a smart attacker which is really good. :) Lastly, one of my favorites, Mika Esperanza. I really like seeing her play 'coz she's always smiling which is a good thing. It just shows that she enjoys what she's doing. She's a great setter, I must say. The best moment for her during the game was when she was able to block. I loved that. It's like everyone in the team contributed for the blocking. Esperanza's a great player :)

Wensh Tiu with an attack :)

I also have players that I like from Ateneo. I like Cainglet 'coz she's great and she's humble. Ferrer, 'coz she's a great setter. Lazaro, she's an excellent digger and Gervacio for her jump serve :) Can I just add my favorite players from other schools; Sheila Pineda from Adu and Cai Nepomuceno from NU 'coz they're both great.

Marano & Fajardo with a stare down :)

DLSU LADY SPIKERS.

Block!

Another block!

They're all focused.

Best player for that game, Michelle Gumabao rejoicing :)

And yes, another block! :)

Loved this shot. :) Smile :)

Mika Esperanza with the block during the 3rd set. =)

Let me end this blog post by a simple recap on why, I think, the Lady Spikers won. They showed what champions are. They're the defending champions so I guess they're just proving something. They had that mental toughness that even if they're not used to playing in such a big crowd, they didn't mind that. They still played the same and just focused on their game. Another reason why they won? 'Coz they wanted to. They put their heart in the game and played with all they can and they never forgot to smile. Lastly, according to Boom Gonzales, "their defense has been solid the entire afternoon". I think that's the best reason why they won. I can't agree more with what Boom Gonzales said. Their defense was totally awesome especially with their blocks. They're definitely the best blocking team in the league. True. It was a great BLOCK PARTY. =)

Credits to The Lasallian for all the photos in this blog post. :)

#BlockParty.

biancacanlas

Let's go Lady Spikers!

Last Saturday, January 12, I got the chance to watch the volleyball match between the De La Salle Lady Spikers and the Ateneo Lady Eagles. It was just two seasons ago wherein I started watching such games. I'm not that into volleyball before and I don't know why I never learned how to play the sport. The only chance that I was able to play volleyball was during PE. But never did I became good at it. Even if that's the case, I still enjoy watching volleyball. Well, I love watching different kinds of sports. 

So, luckily we were able to get tickets for the game. Thanks to our friend, Oscar :) It was my first time to watch it in the arena and I was pretty excited. The feeling's really different when you're actually in that place. The arena was full of so many people and even the staircases were filled with people seated on it. Everyone was really excited for the match. Not just because they're rivals but also because they are the top 1 and 2 teams. The game was definitely a great one. Set 1 even reached until 28 points. That's how great the players are. First two sets went to the Lady Eagles and they just needed 1 set to win the game. After those sets, I was already down. We felt like the game would be over after the third set. But! It didn't end after the third set, it even reached the fifth set. And... the Lady Spikers even won! Well, there was a part of me that believed that they would win it. That was when they won in the third set, I then knew they would win. But the nervousness was still there especially on the last set. I was shouting/cheering during the whole game. Bigay todo ang sigaw =)) I really enjoy watching UAAP games especially if it's a DLSU-ADMU game. It's really different. Cheering non-stop for your school =) Palakasan ng cheer sa Ateneo :) At least, during the first volleyball game that I've watched live, the Lady Spikers won which gave the Lady Eagles their first loss for the season. The Lady Spikers just showed how champions do it. :) They never gave up and continued their focus in the game. Let's go Lady Spikers! You played really well. My personal favorite players are Ara Galang, Mika Reyes, Michelle Gumabao, Aby Marano and Kim Fajardo from the Lady Spikers :) They played great during the last three sets which made DLSU win. 

Looking forward to more volleyball games. :)

Congrats Lady Spikers! Animo! :)