ALYSSA Valdez said the Ateneo Lady Eagles' early exit from the Shakey's V-League Season 11 First Conference may be "God's way" of telling her to slow down.
Although disappointed by the Lady Eagles' failure to reach the semifinal stage of the V-League, Valdez, or 'Baldo' to her adoring fans, said the team as a whole is due for a short break.
The Lady Eagles, after all, had plunged into the new campaign of the pioneering women's volleyball league just eight days after pulling off a memorable maiden championship in the UAAP.
"It hurts na natalo, pero kasi si God na ang bahala eh, siguro sabi niya pahinga muna kayo, kahit sandali lang," said Valdez, the season and Finals MVP of the Lady Eagles' dream run in the UAAP which they capped with a win over arch-rival De La Salle in the finals.
With volleyball off the menu for a while, Valdez said she is focusing on her on-the-job training at Asia United Bank - one of the academic requirements the third-year student needs to complete.
Being a Psychology major, Valdez has been assigned to the bank's Human Resources department while teammates Denden Lazaro and Amy Ahomiro are working for the press relations department.
But the pride of San Juan, Batangas has high hopes for the Lady Eagles once they plunge back in action, saying lessons learned from the V-League letdown will only strengthen the team, especially the rookies.
"Learning experience din kasi ito (V-League), lalo na sa rookies," said the third-year player. "Binigay naman namin ang lahat sa games, 'yun nga lang natalo, pero it was God's will."
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