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Ateneo's Tolentino shines in 'surreal' UAAP debut

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/02/05/020517_admu.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Ateneo&#x27;s Kat Tolentino had eight points in her UAAP debut. Photo by Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports.</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo&#x27;s Kat Tolentino made an immediate impact for the Lady Eagles on Saturday against University of Santo Tomas, when she finally made her UAAP debut after a two-year wait.The towering Tolentino tallied eight points in the Lady Eagles&#x27; 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 win over the Tigresses to open their campaign in the Season 79 women&#x27;s volleyball tournament. She seemed unaffected by the knee injuries that forced her to sit out the past two seasons, instead leaping easily and hitting with power as Ateneo&#x27;s open hitter.She was quick to gain fans, too, and trended on Twitter quickly after Ateneo supporters finally got a glimpse of her game.For Tolentino, however, she was just thrilled to finally step on the court and make it to the end of the contest.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/news/2017/02/04/lady-eagles-submit-tigresses-three-21385">READ: Lady Eagles submit Tigresses in three</a></li></ul>&quot;I don&#x27;t have words right now. It&#x27;s just so surreal,&quot; she said after the game. &quot;The team was super supporting, and it made it so much better than I could have ever imagined.&quot;&quot;The nerves of course were there,&quot; she added. &quot;But everyone was just always trying to help calm me down, and I think I couldn&#x27;t have asked for a better first game.&quot;&quot;I&#x27;m thankful to be able to get through that first game, being healthy, and of course, not getting hurt.&quot;Injury has been an issue for Tolentino for the past two years. She was initially set to make her Ateneo debut in Season 78, but suffered an ACL injury during warm-ups of a V-League game, and thus had to sit out another year.She proved on Saturday that the wait was worth it, as she gave Ateneo setter Jia Morado another weapon on offense while also showing excellent timing when it came to net defense. A converted middle blocker, Tolentino is the first to admit that she needs to improve her floor defense, but is confident that she can be more comfortable in that aspect of the game as the tournament goes on.Morado, the new Ateneo captain, was all praises for Tolentino after her performance, which saw the Fil-Canadian spiker convert seven of her 15 spike attempts.&quot;We expected Kat to be quiet and hesitant because she came from an injury, but she really delivered,&quot; said Morado.Tolentino, for her part, gave full credit to her teammates. &quot;The team did a good job of helping me, because they really told me what to do and helped me relax before the game,&quot; she explained.&quot;UST played a really good game, but I think our team effort is what won us the game,&quot; she said.Tolentino added that she is thankful for the support the fans have given her, even during her period of recovery. However, she knows that with their support comes expectations.&quot;It&#x27;s still somewhat pressuring,&quot; she said. &quot;I&#x27;m just happy that I finished the game.&quot;For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a>

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo's Kat Tolentino made an immediate impact for the Lady Eagles on Saturday against University of Santo Tomas, when she finally made her UAAP debut after a two-year wait.

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo's Kat Tolentino made an immediate impact for the Lady Eagles on Saturday against University of Santo Tomas, when she finally made her UAAP debut after a two-year wait.

Ateneo's Tolentino shines in 'surreal' UAAP debut

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Ateneo's Tolentino shines in 'surreal' UAAP debut

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 05, 2017 12:00 PM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

UAAP Season 79

UAAP volleyball

Ateneo Lady Eagles

Kat Tolentino

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