Adamson clipped reigning UAAP champion La Salle with a stunning 22-25, 25-17, 17-25, 27-25, 16-14 come-from-behind win in Game 1 of the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals finale Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Lady Falcons gave the Lady Spikers a dose of their own medicine, erasing a huge 11-20 deficit in the fourth set before pulling through by a whisker in the clincher to move on the brink of capturing the first SSL national title.
Skipper Lucille Almonte kept Adamson afloat all throughout with 24 points on three aces and a block while super rookie Red Bascon delivered when it mattered the most, none bigger than her back-to-back hits to finish with seven points and clinch it for the Lady Falcons.
Ayesha Juegos had 13 points while Sharya Nicole Ancheta and Lorene Toring added 10 apiece in the well-balanced attack of Adamson under new mentor JP Yude.
“Lagi ko kasing sinasabi sa kanila, may tiwala ako sa kanila. Kaya I always encourage them, especially nu’ng 4th set, down kami, sabi ko ‘di pa tapos ‘yung laban. ‘Di pa naman 25. Sabi ko isa-isahin natin. Tiyagain natin,” said Yude, a former Adamson player, in his first tournament since taking over from Jerry Yee in June.
“Siguro, na-absorb nila ‘yun. Siguro nakita din nila sa akin, for me, ‘di pa talo. Ayusin niyo ‘yung mga mukha niyo, ‘yung body language niyo. Hindi pa tapos ‘yung laban. Siguro nakita nila ‘yung eagerness na i-push sila.”
La Salle, riding on a five-set win against the University of Santo Tomas from a 1-2 deficit including multiple match points saved, looked headed into an easy four-set win against Adamson by building what seemed an insurmountable 20-11 lead off a Thea Gagate hit.
But Adamson simply refused to go down and quit.
With Almonte setting the tone, the Lady Falcons launched a killer 11-1 rally capped by Ancheta’s quick attack in the middle to snatch the driver seat at 22-21.
Both teams traded blows from there on, with each one reaching match point, before Bascon unloaded two straight hits for a 27-25 win to extend the match to the fifth set.
As they figured in a back-and-forth decider anew, Bascon would not shy away from the big stage by hammering through another back-to-back attack for Adamson’s great escape act.
Shevana Laput rifled in a tournament-high of 30 points, Thea Gagate and Alleiah Malaluan added 14 points while Baby Jyne Soreño had 11 points but La Salle still absorbed its first defeat in the 12-team SSL presented by Eurotel as the official hotel and Victory Liner as office transport provider, and in cooperation with the Commission on Higher Education.