Ana Hermosura has been making waves in her rookie season for Ateneo de Manila University, not just with her high-scoring performances but also with her animated celebrations after every point.
For the 19-year-old newcomer from Bacolod Tay Tung High School, why wouldn’t she celebrate when playing for Ateneo has been her dream for as long as she can remember?
Ateneo was the dream — and Hermosura is now living it.
“I think inspired lang talaga ako,” said the Ateneo outside spiker about her celebrations.
“Like, I’m really playing for Ateneo. And like, Ateneo is like my dream talaga since I was a kid. Kaya, for me, every point is so important. And like, motivation siya for me to play more,” she continued.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
After a shaky debut where she only scored three points against Adamson University, Hermosura shone in their five-set loss to University of the Philippines, recording 19 points and nine digs.
She followed that with eight points and 10 digs in a straight-sets loss to University of Santo Tomas, before returning to double-digit scoring on Sunday against De La Salle University with 18 points.
However, her strong performances have yet to push the Blue Eagles into the win column, as they fell to 0-4 following their four-set defeat to the Lady Spikers.
“I’m just enjoying my rookie season. ‘Cause like, siyempre, wala pong pressure sa’kin eh. So yeah, I’m just enjoying my rookie season and like, learning from it po,” said Hermosura.
Their closest chance for a win came when they led UP two sets to none, only for the Maroons to fight back and win 17-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-14.
According to the impressive rookie from Iloilo, the team just needs to improve its mental steadiness to finally break through.
“I think for me po, mas mai-improve pa po namin yung strong mind namin during the game. I think kulang pa po kami sa experience-wise and composure-wise as a team,” she said.
#WATCH: INSPIRED LANG TALAGA AKO 🦅
Ana Hermosura is giving her all for Ateneo because it’s been her long-time dream to be a Blue Eagle 🏐#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/9v2Co6HEoU
📹 @justinvalencia_ /Tiebreaker Times#UAAPSeason88 pic.twitter.com/1loXfoaHqD
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 1, 2026
