Valdez assures Lady Eagles not bothered by pressure, expectations

MANILA, Philippines – Coming off of a Cinderella run to their first-ever title just 8 months ago, the Ateneo Lady Eagles have understandably accumulated a ton of pressure and expectations from their throng of supporters. 

But veteran star Alyssa Valdez assures she and her teammates won’t let outside forces weigh them down.

“Wala lang yung pressure, hindi namin masyado iniisip na ganoon,” she said after the Lady Eagles notched their first win of the season in convincing fashion versus the NU Lady Bulldogs. “We’re just playing the sport that we love so siguro yun lang yung nagmo-motivate sa amin.”

(We don’t think about the pressure. We’re just playing the sport that we love so perhaps that’s our motivation.) 

The Lady Eagles did not show any signs of doing too much to win or forcing themselves to perform well on Saturday. They appeared to be in high spirits and well-prepared not only for the opening game, but for the entire season.

(IN PHOTOS: Lady Eagles, Tigresses open UAAP 77 volleyball with wins)

“We’re very happy kasi nanalo kami pero hindi talaga namin ine-expect na ganoon yung magiging result ng game,” explained Valdez. “Siguro timing lang talaga na maganda yung game ng lahat and even si coach Tai (Bundit) sobrang ganda ng motivation niya that game. Siguro nagkaroon lang ng connection.” 

(We’re very happy because we won but we did not expect that kind of result. It just so happened that everybody had a good game and coach Tai had great motivation for us for that game. There was probably a connection.) 

The reigning Most Valuable Player also insisted the team is not looking at Season 77 as a year of validating last year’s surprise title run, which saw a young and depleted Ateneo squad defy all odds and overcome NU twice, and then usurp 3-time defending champions De La Salle Lady Spikers by beating them thrice. 

“Siguro for us, yung mindset talaga namin this season is one game at a time,” Valdez shared how the team sees the new season. “Every game we prepare for it.” (For us, our mindset this season is one game at a time.)

Though the Lady Eagles can shut out people’s expectations for them to continue playing well and even go on to win a second straight championship, they can’t simply ignore the huge target etched on their backs at all times.

They’re the defending champions. They’re no longer understated, unheralded, lowly underdogs. The entire league knows what they’re capable of, and they’ve likely been scouted down to every bench player. 

Therefore, they Lady Eagles enter this season no longer with a more comfortable we-have-nothing-to-lose outlook. Instead, they must learn to adapt to their new tag: contenders.

“We’re here. Sabi nga namin ang bilis, new season na pala,” the 21-year old open hitter admitted. “Yung mindset namin last year was nothing to lose pero we have everything to lose now siyempre.” (We’re here. We were surprised the new season came so fast. Our mindset last year was nothing to lose but we have everything to lose now naturally.)

They key to managing that kind of role, Valdez said, is to still be allowed to try new things, stretch limits and, most importantly, make mistakes – something that Thai coach Tai Bundit is constantly encouraing them to do.

“Si coach Tai kasi hindi niya ipapa-feel sayo na may mawawala sayo eh,” Valdez explained.

“Ipapa-feel niya sayo na sige lang, gawin mo lang yan kasi wala naman mawawala sayo and tanggap ka pa rin namin no matter what happens. Kahit mag-error ka man or magka-point ka, part ka pa rin ng team.” 

(Coach Tai won’t make you feel like you will lose everything if you do one thing. He will make you feel that you should do everything because you have nothing to lose and the team will still accept you no matter what happens. Even if you commit an error or you score a point, you’re still part of the team.)

Improved chemistry 

Visible in the team’s collective demeanor and body language before, during, and after their opening game is how the team’s chemistry has improved over the past year.

After losing the Fab Five of Gretchen Ho, Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Dzi Gervacio and A Nacachi to graduation last season, the Lady Eagles had to replenish with a fresh batch of rookies. That meant building rapport from scratch and acclimating the young guns to the system.

But instead of biding their time to learn, last year’s rookies, specifically setter Jia Morado and spiker Michelle Morente, were thrust into the limelight with a signifcant load of responsibilities normally entrusted to more experienced players. Last year’s campaign forced the young volleybelles to step up and grow quickly.

It proved helpful because the rookies jelled quickly with the vets. But they don’t want to expect that to happen every year.

Libero Denden Lazaro, who is playing on her final year, shared the difference of this year’s squad from last year. 

“Yung team namin now, mas jelled siya compared to last year,” she said. “Tapos may rookies so nadagdagan pa kami ng height. Feeling ko mas prepared kami this year compared to last year.” (Our team now is much more jelled than last year. We also have rookies so we added more height. I feel we’re more prepared this year compared to last year.)

One major preparation the team did in the off-season to boost chemistry and raise their game was participating in a Thailand training camp. 

Bundit organized a series of tune-up games for the Lady Eagles with opponents from varying degrees of play. Lazaro shared they played against club teams, high school teams, and even U-16 national teams.

The objective of the training camp was to go back to volleyball basics and work on service, receive, and defense.

“We won some (games) but majority we lost because the teams are really strong there,” Lazaro said. “It really helped us prepare for this season, it was a humbling experience for us.”

One of the team’s biggest leaps this season is the immense growth of their chemistry with Bundit. Last year, both sides were groping to understand each other and adapt to the system. The language barrier did not help ease the transition either. 

But a championship certainly broke all roadblocks and pulled the team together. If the first game is any indication, chemistry doesn’t appear to be so much of a problem anymore. 

“Sige may language barrier pero it helps us to be more (united) and na-motivate kami,” Valdez said. “Yung language barrier hindi namin napansin. So now wala naman, siguro nasanay na rin kami.”

She added chuckling, “Nagkakaroon na nga ng inside jokes sa team dahil sa pagsasalita niya.”

(Perhaps you can say there’s a language barrier but it helps us to be more united and we’re motivated. We don’t notice the language barrier. Right now we’re used to it. In fact, we already have inside jokes in the team with how coach Tai speaks.) – Rappler.com