Kat Tolentino got the divine intervention she had asked for.
The 24-year-old winger announced to the Ateneo de Manila University community that she will forego her final year of collegiate eligibility, Saturday evening.
“How blessed and thankful I am that I’m not just an athlete who had three ACL injuries. I am fine by saying that I am an athlete who had three ACL injuries, one absolutely unforgettable championship, and one Ateneo family forever,” she said amid the cheers of ‘One more year’ inside the Church of the Gesu in Ateneo.
“This is Kat Tolentino, number ten, signing off.”
Earlier, the 6-foot-3 spiker asked for prayers before she made her decision.
“You know, with what coach O [Almadro] said, you just have to pray for it. But I don’t want to say anything now,” the Fil-Canadian spiker confessed.
With this, four Lady Eagles graduated from Ateneo – Tolentino, Maddie Madayag, Bea De Leon, and Kim Gequillana.
In her first three years in Ateneo, she suffered three ACL tears.
But when she debuted in the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Volleyball tournament, it was all worth it. Tolentino made herself pivotal in all those three years.
Season 81 was a breakthrough for Tolentino. She averaged a career-high 14.2 points-per-game on 30.23-percent attack accuracy, and had 0.63 kill blocks-per-set to win Best Opposite Spiker.
In the Finals, she posted norms of 12.7 points per game, and capped it all off in Game Three with 15 points to lead all Lady Eagles in scoring.
