shiela marie pineda

the adamson lady falcons lost to ateneo lady eagles last saturday. great game for alyssa valdez and the lady eagles who will face the NU bulldogs this wednesday (nu has twice-to-beat advantage). while i’m also a big fan of the best scorer and attacker alyssa valdez and the ateneo team, i wanted adamson to win this game to see bang pineda once more before she hangs up her adamson number 1 jersey. she’s graduating this year and we’ll only see her if she suits up in one of the teams in the semi-professional league, philippine super liga.

since i first saw the older adamson team with janet serafica, rissa jane laguilles placed runner up to feu, i have been following this team. angela benting took over as the captain and passed the torch to pau soriano last year, who steered the lady falcons to a third place finish before graduating. shiela mariepineda, or bang, then took over the reins. the high-flying bang topped the scoring chart in early february before valdez took it away solidly.

every weekend, i would cheer for the adamson lady falcons (even against my UP naming mahal team) and would feel bad if they lost a game... similar to that bad feeling when rafael nadal loses. they lost badly to higher ranked teams such as dlsu and nu and suffered surprising losses to feu and ust. they usually start on the losing side before turning things around to win close matches such as their first match against UP and the winner-take-all match versus feu. adamson doesn’t have physically gifted players like dindin santiago or mika reyes. ok, they’re not the best team in uaap but i still like watching the adamson lady falcons! apart from their heart and great floor defense, the main reason is bang pineda.

according to some trivia from commentators such as boom gonzales, noreen go, mozzy ravena, bang pineda was recruited in the team and was groomed to be a libero since she’s a very good digger. until the coaching staff saw that she could be a great open hitter. she’s only 5’4, short in volleyball player standards, but bang’s high leaps and high percentage attacks made her a true weapon for the team. and she is (or was as she already played her last game). she was the best server last year and one of the consistent diggers in the league. as mentioned, she is second to valdez in scoring, contributing not only on attacks but also on blocking, aces and floor defence. a true all-around player and one who will be sorely missed in the league.

#PinedaTime once more sana.