Fab 5 Final Game - Part 1

March 6, Wednesday

Mall of Asia Arena

 Passion, Pride, Pain
Bleed Me Blue - Cry Me A River
 [center court photos]

Bearing witness to the final moments on the UAAP court of the Fab Five - Dzi Gervacio, A Nacachi, Gretchen Ho, Gem Ferrer, and Fille Cainglet - was an experience, like no other for me.

In the few years I've covered UAAP Sports - I'd seen a lot of athletes swallow the oh so bitter pill of losing a Championship Series. It's always a case so being so near yet being so far - It's always one team has to lose - because there is only room for One Champion.  There will always Tears of Joy AND Tears of Sorrow - The "ideal situation for any team" being - to be the group shedding Tears of Joy after a Championship Match. 

Being on the losing team -> Well - won't get into that anymore - because the images in this post will do the talking.

Any bona fide UAAP Volley fan [even more so, any Ateneo Lady Eagles Volleyball Fan] is all too aware of the 5 year odyssey of Ateneo's Fab Five which ended in "disappointingly" in heartache, just last Wednesday.  Among the hundreds of images I captured that day, it is, hands down, the post match [up close and personal] pictures of the Lady Eagles that are the most powerful and compelling - for me.  

It's no secret that I root for the Lady Eagles. I've tried, in more ways than one, to support the girls through my sports imagery.  [What happens on court is beyond my control.]  When I started shooting UAAP matches in SY 2008-2009 the Fab Five were just raw rookies, in as much as my sports photography was not that good then [FYI - My roots/strength in photography are in portraiture/lifestyle]. Since then,  I've come quite far [have been fortunate enough to have been flown to Singapore to shoot several football matches, even a Mixed Martial Arts Event] and so have the Ateneo Lady Eagles, having the Fab Five as the core, reached the Finals last year, only to lose to the Lady Archers. 

 For Ateneo - and the Fab Five - winning the Volleyball Championship this year would have been a Dramatic Fairy Tale ending  - but alas,  Fate had other plans .  .  .

 Gretchen Ho is comforted by rookie Marge Tejada

 A Nacachi and Dzi Gervacio

Dennise Michelle Lazaro and A Nacachi

Gretchen Ho and Marge Tejada

 True Sport

 Lady Archer Kim Fajardo and Lady Eagle Alyssa Valdez hug

Liberos' Hug

I could literally FEEL the pain, just being up close.
When I saw Fille Cainglet buckle down in heartache  - Woah !

Grabe - It was just so heart wrenching listening to Dzi Gervacio speak her soul, let alone capturing through digital tech -> the girls' tears [unabashed and free flowing]

The Unsaid

- Singing the Alma Mater Song -

When the Lady Eagles faced the Ateneo gallery I made the choice of concentrating on  tight shots of some of the Fab Five. I'm sure I could have taken fan shots, to show more of the solemnity of this, the Fab Five's last UAAP send-off but I knew to get good images  - I had to make a choice

'Twas quite difficult, though, given the few minutes, even just looking for Fille and Dzi. who positioned themselves on the back row. [My face was literally beside the butt of a Lady Eagle ! I even had to contort my body a bit just to get a clear line of sight] - Fille's and Dzi's faces were constantly obstructed so I had to discreetly "squeeze" myself amongst the legs of the other Lady Eagles in the front.  [I was even using a 400mm telephoto lens] Hope my efforts paid off.

 Passing the Torch

 Gem Ferrer - beside her is one of her successors - Giselle Tan

 Ella "The Elevator" de Jesus

 "Gretch"

Angeline "Dzi" Gevacio

I feel for you, girl.

 A "fancy little trick" I learned before -

-> intentionally put a certain glistening object off focus 
to somehow enhance the highlight

[worked this time]

"Hindi talag maubos-ubos ang mga luha ng mga babae"

Jeeesuz ! Nothing on this earth could have assuaged the pain of the girls were experiencing during those sobering moments.

Fille Cainglet [again] is comforted by Mona Bagatsing - 
[this was before the Alma Mater song]

What captions can do "justice" to these moments ? Tell Me.

 Marge Tejada

Mr. Ricky Palou

There were "in-between" moments when the girls would be dry-eyed and be very much aware of what was happening around them, listening to each other, comforting each other - - - every now and then  - - -  but there was just too much inside to be able to hold back - and as seen in the next images below, Fille Cainglet [the darling of thousands of volley fans - Atenean and non-Atenean alike] - after a few moments being dry-eyed would just burst into tears and just sob on a team mate's shoulder.

 "A"

In the midst of the post game frenzy I actually overhear 
A Nacachi whisper to Marge Tejada  "bawiin ninyo kami next year"

Last image ever of the Fab Five [together] on court, in their UAAP jerseys ?

Probably So

I definitely have a few more post match JPEGs [taken center court]
 to add to this installment = Just please stay "tuned" guys

I'll finish this post sometime Sunday evening - gotta catch a flight at NAIA 3

An upcoming post will feature post game images
 taken inside the Lady Eagles dugout.

Animo Ateneo !!

brosi gonzales