Posts by Aaron P. Valdez

Lady Spikers seek to make history

By on February 7, 2012

Beat the four lower-tier teams: check. Defeat last year’s third runner-up: check. Defeat last year’s first runner-up: check. Defeat last year’s champions: zilch. After the first round of Season 74, Coach Roger Gorayeb and his troops have yet to fully accomplish the checklist that will give them the confidence to finally quell the title drought [...]

Valdez leads Lady Spikers over Lady Bulldogs

By on January 23, 2012

SHE IS one of the team’s newest members, but she has been playing sensational, seasoned volleyball in only her first year playing the sport in the UAAP. Former UST High School standout Alyssa Valdez led all scorers with a career-high 30 points as the Lady Spikers routed the National University Bulldogs, 3-1. Fresh off a [...]

UST defeats Ateneo in four sets

By on January 16, 2012

No Rhea Dimaculangan, no problem. After UST’s star player tweaked her ankle in the second set, the Lady Tigers clawed from a 0-1 hole en route to a 3-1 romp over the Ateneo Lady Spikers, backed by a boisterous crowd that lorded over The FilOil Flying V Arena on January 15. Maruja Banaticla scored 15 [...]

Semerads to join Blue Eagles

By on January 3, 2012

AFTER STARTING center Greg Slaughter confirmed his final year of eligibility, the good news kept pouring in for the Ateneo faithful, as Fil-Australian forwards and twin brothers David and Anthony Semerad—two talented bruisers from Mendiola—confirmed their intent to bring their talents to Katipunan Avenue. Though no official statement has been made as of press time, [...]

Lady Spikers grab third win against NU

By on December 12, 2011

In the middle of the third set, Aillysse Nacachi, Gretchen Ho, Fille Cainglet and the other veterans shared a good laugh, as they enjoyed a four-point leverage, 21-17, over the NU Lady Bulldogs on December 11, at the FilOil Flying V Arena. All throughout the ordeal, the Lady Bulldogs were playing Ateneo’s game, as Ateneo’s [...]

Blue Eagles dominate Unigames

By on December 6, 2011

FORTY-NINE points per game—the average lead margin kept by the Ateneo Blue Eagles against their first two opponents in the 16th Annual Philippine Sports Commission University Games (Unigames). Although succeeding teams would whittle down the massive differential, the blue crew kept its composure en route to a championship. In a squad severely missing key players—Greg [...]

Lady Spikers suffer first loss of the season

By on December 4, 2011

Anything slapped with an Ateneo – La Salle label gives it some competitive zing, be it an intellectual debate or a sell-out basketball game. In the second semester, the drama and the rivalry extend to volleyball, where both teams are heavy with tension. First, there’s the winning streak that the menacing Taft contingent holds against [...]

Lady Spikers thrash UST in season opener

By on November 26, 2011

The Ateneo Lady Spikers jumpstarted their UAAP campaign with a 3-0 thrashing of last year’s first runners-up, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses, on November 26 at the FilOil Flying V Arena. Led by sophomore player Alyssa Valdez, the new-look Lady Spikers haplessly avenged their third place finish last season against the very same [...]

The Blue Babble Batallion

By on October 20, 2011

THE UAAP Cheerdance Competition is where the cheerleaders get cheered for, aside from their usual halftime concerts in regular season games. This is where nightmares of team logistics, the months spent training since summer, the trickle of sweat and blood and the voice of the Sixth Man converge in a condensed six minutes of athletics [...]

Hoops season nears its climax

By , on September 27, 2011

The Blue Eagles are just two wins away from making UAAP history.

Full steam ahead for Black’s boys

By on September 1, 2011

After breezing through the FilOil Flying V Premier Cup last summer, the Blue Eagles have cruised past the competition, opening Season 74 with nine consecutive wins, bannered by UAAP neophytes Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter. Steered by Coach Norman Black and his trademark defensive mentality, the Blue Crew has lived up to expectations and has [...]

One year off: Ryan Buenafe’s mea culpa

By on August 2, 2011

Where in the world is Ryan Buenafe?

Scouting report: Stopping the four-peat

By on July 9, 2011

Which UAAP team can stop the Blue Eagles? “THE MORE you win, the bigger the target gets on your chest, and the more people want to shoot you down,” Ateneo Blue Eagles’ coach Norman Black stated after their Filoil championship victory against the San Beda Lions. After winning three straight championships and recruiting prized rookies [...]

Lady Spikers bag first ever title in pre-season

By on June 15, 2011

NUMBER ONE. Don’t set it in stone yet, but it looks like it’s finally happening this year. After last year’s ho-hum UAAP finish, the Lady Spikers had the entire offseason to reboot and reevaluate a season of disappointment. With five new additions to the team and most of the team’s valuable players intact, last summer, [...]