By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After years of heartbreak and disappointments, the Adamson University high school girls can finally call themselves queens of volleyball in the UAAP juniors.
The Lady Baby Falcons overpowered their way in the UAAP high school girls championship series as they swept the National University Nazareth School Lady Bullpups in Game 2, 25-18, 25-18, 28-26, last February 12, 2024, held at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
With the victory, the Adamson Lady Baby Falcons just raised its first-ever UAAP high school girls volleyball championship title.
What made the win sweeter was their dominant 14-0 tournament run while also sweeping the NU-Nazareth squad in the finals, 2-0.
Just like their first encounter, the Lady Baby Falcons immediately pummeled the Lady Bullpups with their high-octane offensive schemes led by superstar outside hitter Shaina Natura.
Natura was once again in the zone in Game 2 and was laser-focused on taking care of their business to avoid any winner-take-all third-game rubber match.
From her cross-court kills to her off-the-block crafty offensive ways to score, Nitura continued to stamp her class at the high school level after another consistent outing in the finals.
Her dominant display of volleyball helped her clinch the UAAP high school girls finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
“In every challenge and in every trial na dumating sa team na ‘to, na may iba, hindi aakalain na ganun ‘yung mangyayari sa team. Pero thankful kami na nag-grow ‘yung bata,” said Adamson head coach JP Yude.
Aside from Nitura, the 1-2 punch of Angie Del Moral and Tuds Tuddao also stepped up when Adamson needed them the most in the crucial Game 2.
The duo backstopped Nitura in the scoring department despite being busy anchoring Adamson’s defense as the team’s main middle blockers.
“I’m really thankful sa Lord kung anong ginawa niya sa buhay namin. Hindi kami makakating rito kung hindi dahil sa kanya,” added Yude.
