ADAMSON University fashioned out another perfect campaign and capped its unblemished title run with a 10-0 victory over University of the Philippines (UP) on Thursday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77 softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Stretching its unbeaten run to 62 matches, the Lady Falcons captured their fifth-straight crown—14th overall and 11th under Coach Ana Santiago.
“Ito ang bunga ng tuluy-tuloy na training at magandang programa. Nandoon ‘yung will para manalo sa game. This is the first time we got a ‘five-peat,’” Santiago said.
Queeny Sabobo, who shared with University of Santo Tomas’s Cristy Joy Roa the Most Homeruns honors, belted the title-clinching two-run homer in the final inning. She had two runs batted in (RBI) and two hits in the match.
After fanning out 12 batters in the Lady Falcons’ 6-0 win in last Tuesday’s opener, Annalie Benjamen sustained her impressive performance with four strikeouts. She gave up only three hits.
Benjamen won her second straight Most Valuable Player award and also bagged the Best Pitcher, Best Hitter and Most RBIs trophies.
“’Yung lahat ng pinaghirapan namin, nandoon lahat ‘yung kinalabasan,” said the 22-year-old Benjamen, the pride of Bacolod City.
Santiago credited the Lady Maroons, who matched their second-place finish in 2011 when the Lady Falcons began their softball dynasty.
“UP is a strong team. Hanga ako sa kanila, marami silang rookies, pero hindi sila bumitaw. Mga fighter ang mga ‘yan. Ang sabi ko sa mga bata, if we want to win, kung anong lakas meron ang kalaban, higitan natin. If we want to be the winner, we have to play like a winner,” Santiago said.
Adamson University got a huge chunk of the individual awards—Gelyn Lamata shared with Benjamen the Most RBIs, while Lorna Adorable took the Most Stolen Bases honors and Florabelle Pabiana the Rookie of the Year plum.
Game Two of the championship will be aired on Friday on ABS-CBN Sports+Action.
Image credits: Roy Domingo