Once a student, later a near colleague, and now a rival on the collegiate sidelines — Regine Diego’s coaching journey has come full circle.
The young mentor-turned-adversary will face her longtime guide, Ramil de Jesus, for the first time in the collegiate ranks when defending champion National University takes on unbeaten De La Salle University to close the first round of the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Despite the golden opportunity to dent the Lady Spikers’ perfect record, Diego emphasized that sharing the court with the coach who shaped her career is a moment she will always treasure.
“It’s an honor to share the court with him. Hopefully, he’s proud of me that we’re here,” Diego said ahead of the highly anticipated match on Sunday, March 15, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
For the former Philippine girls’ volleyball head coach, this matchup is the culmination of years of growth. As a player, Diego captured four UAAP women’s volleyball titles under De Jesus’ guidance with the Lady Spikers from 2006 to 2009.
Years later, she briefly assumed the same role her mentor once held when she coached the now-defunct F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in 2023 — the very club De Jesus had led to five Philippine Super Liga titles and one championship in the 2021 PNVF Champions League.
Now, in 2026, fate has placed them on opposite sides of the Taraflex in the UAAP. Diego leads the Lady Bulldogs in their title defense following the departure of Sherwin Meneses, while De Jesus continues to helm the Lady Spikers for the 29th consecutive year.
Diego, however, readily acknowledged the challenge ahead. La Salle retains a largely intact core including Season 85 Rookie-MVP Angel Canino, Fil-Australian opposite spiker and captain Shevana Laput, Alas Pilipinas Women middle blocker Amie Provido, and Season 87 Best Libero Lyka de Leon.
NU, meanwhile, navigates the post-Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon era, relying on Season 87 co-Finals MVPs Vange Alinsug and Shaira Jardio, rookie standout Sam Cantada, and Alas Women pool member Arah Panique to lead the charge.
“We have a lot of things to work on. Sila kasi, kakaunti lang yung changes, sa amin kasi we have to change a lot — a lot of people, new people. And we have to learn to know each other,” Diego explained.
“It’s a little bit different then. La Salle is La Salle, but NU is also NU. We still have that championship mentality. Hopefully, mailabas namin siya sa game. As in trabaho lang talaga kami and hopefully, we get more wins along the way and we do our best not just with La Salle, but also with all our games.”
#WATCH: IT’S AN HONOR TO SHARE THE COURT WITH HIM 🐶
Regine Diego is looking forward to her first game against her mentor, Ramil de Jesus 🏐 #ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/q0M0G1QWdx
📹 @justinvalencia_ /Tiebreaker Times #UAAPSeason88 pic.twitter.com/K7YFDJ9yVX
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 8, 2026
