Before Shaina Nitura exploded for 33 points, it was Frances Mordi that dragged the Adamson Lady Falcons out of a 0-2 hole against the Ateneo Blue Eagles to start UAAP Season 87.
It was all about the team’s mentality as the Adamson Lady Falcons fought back from a two-set deficit against the Ateneo Blue Eagles in a cardiac finish to start UAAP Season 87 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
While ace rookie Shaina Nitura took most of the credit after a rookie record-shattering 33 points to tow the Lady Falcons to the win, there was another player that was left unheralded for her contributions to the Adamson victory.
[RELATED: Shaina Nitura breaks UAAP rookie scoring record in Adamson debut as Lady Falcons soar past Ateneo]
UAAP first-timer Frances Mordi sparked Adamson’s fight back in the third set, eventually finishing with 23 points as the Lady Falcons achieved the reverse sweep against the Blue Eagles.
After the game, the foreign student-athlete said that it was all about faith and patience which helped them storm back to win their season opener.
"First of all, I would like to say thank you to the Lord because it's not easy,” Mordi said.
“We played a very strong team but it was a very slow start for us as well, but we're able to come up and believe in ourselves, patience as well. So, I believe we can do it and [we did].”
Mordi was the focal point on offense for Adamson in set 3, particularly at the tail-end of the set where she scored three straight to put Adamson ahead by 13, 20-7.
She also had three points in the winner-take-all fifth set, including back-to-back attacks which broke a 3-3 deadlock early on.
For Mordi, she credited it to Adamson head coach JP Yude as well who continued to push the Lady Falcons despite the score and despite the 0-2 deficit.
Now that they’ve been able to prove that they can win, she believes it is high time they commit actions to that faith.
[RELATED: Super rookie Shaina Nitura credits team perseverance as Adamson storms back against Ateneo]
“For the third set, my coach, coach Yude always told me to believe in myself and also, I also told myself to believe in my teammates so I believed it's not over yet (in that set),” said Mordi.
“So, I believed we could do something so we just have to push and we just trust ourselves and help ourselves also," she added.
Turns out, the Lady Falcons did manage to help themselves against Ateneo, finishing the comeback with three straight set wins to begin the season at the top half of the standings at 1-0.
Now, Mordi and the rest of the Adamson squad shift their focus to a wounded DLSU Lady Spikers side whom they face on Saturday, February 22, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.