Shaina Nitura held hope, along with the rest of her Adamson Lady Falcons teammates, as they pulled off the reverse sweep over the Ateneo Blue Eagles to start UAAP Season 87.
Shaina Nitura credited the mindset of the whole Adamson Lady Falcons team as they recovered from a 0-2 deficit to pull off a five-set thriller over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 21-25, 20-25, 25-12, 25-15, 15-12, for a booming start to their UAAP Season 87 campaign at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
Nitura, among the highly-touted rookies heading into the season, lived up to the billing as she fired off a UAAP rookie record 33 points, stunning a more experienced Ateneo squad that were dominating in the first two sets of the match.
But with a united front and a goal to keep going despite the deficit, Nitura and the rest of the Lady Falcons were able to claw back slowly but surely against the Blue Eagles.
The first to step up to the plate was Adamson foreign student-athlete Frances Mordi, who sparked their comeback efforts in a dominating third set and leading the Lady Falcons to a lopsided victory, 25-12, which swung momentum on their side.
[RELATED: Shaina Nitura breaks UAAP rookie scoring record in Adamson debut as Lady Falcons soar past Ateneo]
After a relatively quiet first two sets, Nitura then began to heat up for her team — which she credited to their collective effort, and divine providence.
“Isa lang din po yung sasabihin ko: God is good all the time na if time Niya and will Niya talaga, it will happen whatever the challenges na nandiyan, katulad nung nagyari kanina na both sides nagka-injury. Syempre, thank you rin sa coaching staff kasi hindi rin naman nila kami binitawan. Sila talaga yung nagf-fuel samin. Parang ginamit sila ni Lord to fuel us, yung confidence,” said Nitura.
“[Nakatulong rin] as well yung consultant namin si coach Ettore Guidetti. Sobrang laking tulong niya na andami niyang information na nabigay samin and sobrang nakatulong yun. Dun kami nanghugot to keep the third set hanggang fifth set,” she added.
A champion in the girls division during a season where she was also league MVP and Finals MVP, Nitura likewise made sure to acknowledge the on-court chemistry that she and the rest of the homegrown Adamson standouts worked on in recent years.
Having been together with a number of her teammates in a highly-successful juniors career, Nitura is happy that they can translate some of their success to the big leagues as well.
“Isa lang din po is siguro kaya rin kami nanalo kasi ‘yung chemistry na nabuo namin nila Faye [Sagaysay], ng mga iba kong teammates na kasama kanina. Sobrang tapang nila pare pareho and alam mo yun, kahit nasa lowest kami, we still stuck to each other,” said Nitura.
“Nagsandalan kami hanggang makuha namin ’yung momentum namin, which is nakuha namin,” she added.
Apart from Nitura, the Lady Falcons were also able to lean on Mordi, who ended up with 23 points in the victory.
Meanwhile, the Ateneo Blue Eagles, who are also reeling due to an injury to Geezel Tsunushima, rode an 18-point game from AC Miner in the tough loss.
The Adamson Lady Falcons now get ready for a litmus test when they face the DLSU Lady Spikers on Saturday, February 22, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.