By Jean Malanum
MANILA – Defending champion Adamson University downed University of the Philippines, 6-3, Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the UAAP Season 87 women’s softball best-of-three title series at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate.
The Lady Falcons, eyeing their 12th straight crown, will try to close out the series on Saturday at 9 a.m.
The game was tied 3-all, before Mary Jane Libaton, Madaelene Domaug and Roma Mae Cruz scored for Adamson.
“I’m proud of them because some players stepped up when it was most needed since we had a rough start earlier. This was probably one of the innings where we committed the most errors. Maybe there was a little bit of pressure on them,” said Adamson coach Ana Santiago.
“The good thing is they bounced back. I told them during my timeout—the earliest timeout I’ve ever called, just in the first inning—that there was still a long way to go. I told them not to focus on the score; what matters is that we fight back. No one should give up, and we must believe that we can still win this,” she added.
“I just told them that in crucial situations, as long as they trust themselves, they don’t always have to be part of the starting nine. Even if they’re on the bench, I want them to instill in their minds, ‘I’m always ready when the team needs me.’ That’s what I always tell them,” said Santiago, who also serves as Blu Girls coach.
Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas defeated De La Salle University, 8-7, to settle for the bronze medal.
“We knew we could beat La Salle. We had the advantage in pitching and hitting, so I just had to keep the players composed,” said head coach Sandy Barredo after the Tiger Softbelles finished third for the third straight season.
“You saw it in the first inning—four runs right away. Of course, there were lapses, but we just needed to remind them to stay focused. Same with our pitchers. If one struggled, we had another ready to step in. That was our approach,” he added.
Barredo thanked his graduating players as he looks forward to rebuilding the team.
“We have incoming recruits, though some of our top prospects declined, but others are willing to come in. We’re losing five players, but we still have three reserves ready to step up. If we get three more recruits, or ideally four or five, we’ll have the flexibility to shuffle the lineup,” he said. (PNA)
