By: Ohmer Bautista
After seeing the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons flounder without her, Ayel Estranero will no longer let anything stop her in her final year.
So far, the 5-foot-4 setter has been an instrumental cog in the Lady Maroons’ bid this season.
The 22-year-old native of Bacolod has shown time and time again that she can set the table for a high-octane UP offense that has been turning heads since the preseason tilts.
A testament to her importance was when she was not fit to play during the Lady Maroons’ tiff against the Golden Tigresses due to food poisoning, which resulted to UP’s first loss of the season.
With this, Estranero vowed to be more mindful.
“Kung pwede lang hindi na ko kumain,” Estranero jestingly said. “Pero yeah, I’ll be more careful with what I eat.
“So, it’s a learning experience din na kailangan ko alagaan ‘yung sarili ko to be able to contribute to my team.”
Moreover, this lit up a fire in her as she delivered for her team in her return game, tossing a game-high 38 excellent sets to help deal La Salle its first loss of the season.
Aside from the food poisoning however, Estranero admitted that her desire to play every single game of her swan song and cap it all off with a championship has been her main driving force.
“Well, not only because I missed the last game pero siguro there is more motivation kasi it’s my last playing year,” Estranero confessed. “At siyempre andoon ‘yung goal na mag Final Four and then, mag champion. So, every game is really important. Every game, sobrang motivated namin.
“Hindi lang naman ako, the entire team, hopefully in the end, ma-reach namin ‘yung goal namin.”
