Adamson U's Lady Falcons only needed a 2nd inning, two homerun salvo in gifting Coach Ana Santiago 10-peat UAAP Softball title conquest
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 22 Mar 2023
Nobody has been able to figure out why Ana Santiago is a softball coach except she’s good at it. Coach Ana, as her Lady Falcons and fans call her, is a very modest woman, grateful to call the shots from the Adamson bench in lieu of the retired great softball/baseball legend Filomeno "Boy" Codinera.
When action in the UAAP Softball Championship was suspended following the Covid 19 pandemic in 2019, coach Ana had already gifted her alma mater nine consecutive titles.
Last Saturday, ending the resumption of plays in this 85 UAAP Season, Santiago prolonged her streak to 10, the longest by any coach in any sport in the varsity league.
How the pint-sized Santiago has done this, rival coaches, players, who crossed her path in that span as well as fans, know best.
“Her long years of serving as assistant mentor then as head tactician made coach Ana what she is now,” the now UP’s head of human kinetics Francisco “Kiko” Diaz attested following Adamson’s triumph in Game 1 of the Lady Falcons’ best-of-three gold medal series two Saturdays ago.
“Coach Ana’s stint as understudy of coach Boy, earlier in her career taught her a lot now in being a cunning and astute mentor. She, surely, has inherited lahat ng trick na naituro sa kanya ni coach Boy.”
Losing tactician Ronilon Pagkaliwagan, the only Filipino hurler to pitch a perfect no-hit, no-run. no-error game in the world championship, for his part, commented that Santiago’s years of experience coaching the Philippine Blu Girls and Senior League teams in the Asia-Pacific regional meets as well as the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games "made her unbeatable in escaping from very close situations and win games."
Coach Ana, once again, showed these traits in the title-clinching Game 2 of the first-to-win-two series with UP three days ago. Seeing half of her batting order shutout by eventual losing pitcher Kacelyin Valino right at the upper half of the first inning, the country’s winning guru talked to her next batters and said: saying:
“Okay, nakita na ninyo, nilamon ang ating magagaling na mamamalo. Siyempre, nakakakaba yan. Hindi ako hihingi sa inyong malakas na palo. Ang gusto ko lang maka-connect kayo at sikaping makatuntong ng base.
"Bahala na yung mga susunod sa inyo na ihatid kayo sa home plate. Kayang-kaya nilang magawa at malimit na nating nagawa yun in the past," she reminded them.
Coach Ana then guided designated player Jeelin Pajotal, fourth in the offensive rotation assigned to bat for eventual winning pitcher Glory Alonzo, but couldn't do any damage, flying out to left for the first out.
Came next Santiago's waiting moment when Jennete Rusia, playing right and homerun queen the last time softball was played in 2019, who slammed a solo homer, sending the ball soaring over to left field fence any of UP outfielders couldn’t possibly retrieve.
Not to be outdone, and taking the cue from Rusia’s heroic, center field girl Alaiza Talisik, ninth and last in the Lady Falcons’ batting order, belted out another solo shot to the same spot where Rusia sent hers as the 10-peater Adamson took what turned out an unreachable 2-0 lead.
Even as Valino forced the next Lady Falcons batters in that crucial moment and the two protagonists exchanged five unproductive offensive chances from third to seventh frames.
After which, Santiago and the Lady Falcons officially glued themselves at the throne they first put themselves in 10 Seasons ago.
“Sa mga ganoong kasikip na situwasyon kasi, kailangan mabilis kang mag-isip ng remedy kung paano mo malulusutan," coach Ana said in trying to explain how she did it by way of paying tribute to her former maestro.
"Salamat kay coach Boy, naituro niya lahat sa akin mga yun,” Santiago reminisced after her victory.
Alonzo, in emerging winner in her sixth of her eight starts, earned for her the accolades Best Pitcher of the tournament and Finals MVP, leading two other Lady Falcons – Ma. Angelu Gabriel, Most Homeruns, and Madelaene Dumaog, Most Stolen Bases.
Other individual awardees as best performers are UP’S Nickole dela Cruz, Tournament MVP, Best Slugger, Best Hitter and Most RBIs; and Ateneo’s Genesis Degolacion, Rookie of the Year.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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