It was her first match in the UAAP and Kath Arado was overwhelmed. The courts in her hometown Iligan City were nowhere near as glitzy or as immense as the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
She would soon come to find out that, like her first UAAP match — a loss to the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses — most of her games were going to be forgettable.
By all accounts, Arado was amazing during her first year, netting her co-Rookie of the Year honors alongside UST’s highly-recruited Ej Laure. At the time, it seemed that splitting the Rookie of the Year award was a farce aimed at appeasing then-hosts University of the East, who had zero wins that season.
This is the problem all liberos have — their performance often goes unnoticed, since they literally remain grounded in a sport highlighted by feats of verticality at the net. It did not help that the Lady Warriors regularly dwelled at the bottom of the standings.
But four years later, the tides have turned for Arado.
The UAAP Season 80 Women’s Volleyball Tournament has been the sight of gaudy defensive stats for the 19-year-old defensive ace. While most see the coaching change as the spark for the Lady Warriors’ resurgence, it is Arado’s game-to-game brilliance that serves as the bedrock for UE’s potential.
It all came full circle for Arado, Wednesday afternoon. Facing the same UST team she debuted against, Arado proved that she deserved her Rookie of the Year recognition.
Arado notched 28 digs and 32 excellent receptions, leading UE past the UST for the first time in the Final Four era.
“Sobrang saya ko po kasi isa po talaga sa personal goals ko this season is mabago ang tingin ng tao sa UE. Ngayon naa-achieve na namin paunti-unti,” said fourth-year Lady Warrior.
—
Arado hears and sees people’s comments — that had she gone to another school, she would have already shot up to stardom.
In the first place, not too many UAAP schools recruited Arado. While playing for Region 10 the 2013 Palarong Pamabansa, Arado watched as most of her teammates were recruited by other schools. She then received a few feelers from the National University, but it was only former UE head coach Francis Vicente who fervently pursued her and her current UE teammates Laizah Bendong and Judith Abil.
Admittedly, it was tough for Arado transitioning into the UAAP. She barely lost matches in high school while playing for Iligan City National High School. Losing is still painful for her now, but wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Hindi ko po talaga naisip,” Arado answered when asked if she has ever thought of transferring.
“Dahil po kasi sa UE kaya ako naging ganito. Mahirap nga, pero dahil naman sa hirap kaya tayo lumalakas.”
Arado is now a household name amongst volleyball fans. She was the top trending topic on Twitter against UST.
She could have had this with another team, but Arado feels better that she had to earn everyone’s attention.
“Mas masarap po talaga kapag pinaghirapan. Kaya ngayon, mas nai-inspire pa kaming magpursige.”
