Lady Eagles' Dugouts - Part I

How Sweet It [STILL] Is !!

Flashback --->to those very, very [very] rough first few years of the Lady Eagles' Fab Five {Fille Cainglet, Gretchen Ho, Gem Ferrer, A Nacachi, Dzi Gervacio} , on to their two Shakeys' V-League Crowns -- then on to the two Consecutive Heart-Breaking loses in the UAAP Finals { Feb. 28, 2012 & March 6, 2013}  to the DLSU Lady Spikers -- and then onto that Once-in-a-Lifetime [almost miraculous]  Cinderella Run of 6 Wins in 7 games, to Win UAAP Gold
 { March 15, 2014 }.

Yes, they Beat Adamson in a Win-or-Go-Home  play-off match, Beat the Odds by winning two straight over the Twice-to-Beat {and highly favored} Lady Bulldogs - and Finally Fashioned those three Hard-Fought Wins over the erstwhile "Invincible" {on-a-30+games-winning-streak} 3-Time Champs DLSU Lady Spikers ..........

 {Who at one-point were leading Ateneo 12-8 in a 5-setter, just 3 points away !!!  from a Three-Peat, ONLY to lose that 5 setter and eventually Lose their Crown in a 3-0
 Straight-Set-Loss, the game after}

As was last March 15, after they finally claimed UAAP Gold - The Spirit that brought home that Championship and gave Honor AND Respect to the Blue and White  - Now, Emanates Strong as Ever - Now, The Lady Eagles have that Swagger { Oops ! Hey - but swagger might connote, and can so, so easily be misinterpreted as arrogance } - so I'd rather focus on their SMILES, OK ?, which are certainly easier to show in images !

Watching them dispose of the Lady Bulldogs in three sets - following them into the dugouts - just observing them, in the locker room  - and Discreetly taking a few snapshots - I could so easily feel the Confidence, Happiness and Solidarity that can only Contribute Immensely  to the Lady Eagles' on-going title Defense.  

Sherwin  / Fille / Oliver / Tim / Charo / Ricky / Mona

Happy !! {Unity!}
-- if I may quote Pharell {& Coach Thai}!! --

Dzi Gervacio and A Nacachi were in the Arena, to watch the Win -

wish they'd dropped by the  dugouts like Fille who came all the way from a Super Liga match in Muntinglupa.

The Ateneo Lady Eagles are Living Proof that the Ball IS Round, that Nothing is Impossible to those who are willing to Still Risk it All, Go for Broke, NOT Loose Heart, even  AFTER SO, SO MANY YEARS,  of Trials,  Heart-Ache and Disappointment  {Just rising up One More Time after each & EVERY Fall, so to speak}  - in the arena of College Sports.

Charo Soriano played five years for Ateneo, and like Charo. The Fab Five -> Cainglet, Gervacio, Ferrer, Nacachi, Ho - NEVER won a UAAP Championship, after five years, Together as team mates !, of trying and failing.

So - We all feel it in the Lady Eagles' dugouts NOW - I STILL FEEL it so too - that Charo, the Fab Five {present or not present} and all the Non-Athlete Team players like Sherwin Malonzo, Ricky Palou, Tony Boy, Tim Sto.Tomas, Coach Oliver, Debbie and all - that they, TOO,  became Champions on that fine Saturday in March !   --> and They STILL ARE -  Now !

 True Blue

After the 3-0 sweep of the Lady Bulldogs, for Win #1,

 the Defending Champs oblige the media with a Group Shot.

Napakatamis Pa Rin !!!

Teka, Gabi Na 

Uwian Na !

PS
If You Can,  Dear blog visitor,
Why don't you use the Index/Table of Contents to the right of the blog page and look for my March 6 [thereabouts], 2013 {if ya haven't seen them yet,}
series of posts on that Heart-Breaking "Last UAAP-game-ever" 
of the Fab Five  {Ho, Cainglet, Gervacio, Nacachi, Ferrer} 
after they lost the Championship to DLSU for the second straight year !!

FYI, My March 6-7 {2013} posts have been one of the most HIT feats among the 877 posts I've released, so far, to date


Yes, I was allowed in the locker rooms [post game] and witnessed
those Unforgettable/Sentimental LAST few moments of the Fab Five, 
AS Lady Eagles.

..... Tears still glistening in Cainglet's, --Geravcio's, Nacachi's, Ho's, Ferrer's eyes too, Charo Santos with head humbly bowed, Ateneo President Father Jet Villarin's simple "speech"  - during those heart-wrenching, solemn moments, and Ricky Palou and Tony Boy also having a few words to say, watching Cainglet, seated on a corner of the dugouts w head humbly bowed down, too, and still starting to slowly accept [along with the rest of the Fab Five] that their dreams of a UAAP Championship will never come to pass  ....

 .....so many images, and  private moments I remember from those long drawn minutes    .....the Fab Five being invited to a separate portion of the dugouts, to watch a Video Presentation, as a tribute to their five long years .....  then, Selina Dagdag presenting a cake, a  bouqet of flowers to the Fab Five  ..... as a parting Token of Appreciation from the Ateneo Community  .....

The LAST EVER photo of the Fab Five Posing Together !!, in their Ateneo Jerseys, w/ Selina beside them .... Sentimental  .... Unforgettable    .......then, the Fab Five hamming it up by smudging each other with some cake icing  ....  ...


What a Journey to Witness Indeed !! - 

and to think it siimply means that the End of that Journey 

was just the Beginning of another One    .....

brosi gonzales

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PS

Me, I still do remember the first few matches where I photographed the Fab Five for the first time, in the Arena, even at the FEU R.Papa Gym ->going against the likes of Lady Tams Daquis and Morada !!   - how "Totay" they looked - and even , how lousy my photos were, then, hahaha !!, as compared to now.

I'm just glad I entered the UAAP Scene, just in time to be a witness to the Fab Five's five year journey AND the [new] Lady Eagles Historical Championship Run !

And as long as my photography has improved at a Fast, or even Faster rate - through the years, shooting the UAAP - That IS what matters most, at least for me.