Bea de Leon ends collegiate career as champion, finals MVP

Bea de Leon must be on cloud nine right now as she did not only end her collegiate career as a champion. She was also named Most Valuable Player of the finals series.

In the post-game press conference, De Leon said she was grateful to their head coach, Oliver Almadro, for being the "anchor" of their team.

"I'm just so grateful. It was all him (Coach Oliver Almadro). The whole time, coach just told us to trust the team and trust each other and that's really a big big factor anchoring ourselves to him. We really just surrendered everything. It's the best feeling and I couldn't be more grateful," De Leon said.

De Leon had the option not to play her final year, but it was Almadro who convinced her to stay. And for her, it was the best decision she made.

"It's the best decision I ever made. I'm happy that Coach O called me up. He had the choice to replace me but he really called me up. I still remember that day that he did. Hindi ka makakahindi kay Coach O. It was a risk but we're here and we did it," she narrated.

Last game, De Leon made 10 attack points.

The Ateneo Lady Eagles edged the University of Sto. Tomas in a heart-stopping finals Saturday to capture the UAAP Season 81 women's volleyball tournament. —LDF, GMA News