Lucille Almonte was proud to say that she left everything for Adamson University in her UAAP women’s volleyball career.
The 23-year-old outside spiker from Davao City hopes that the Adamsonian values instilled in her can be observed by the holdovers and rookies joining the Lady Falcons, even when she’s no longer around next season.
“Siguro ‘yung legacy na madadala nila ay ‘yung pagiging tunay na Adamsonian,” said the Season 86 captain.
“Alam mo ‘yun, bilang isang Adamsonian, alam ng lahat na lumalaban talaga kami, at siguro ‘yung environment din dahil sa mga ‘ka-klasmeyts’ talaga, nasa magandang environment kami,” she added, referring to the Adamson community.
Her five-year stay at Adamson was eventful, to say the least, beginning with a championship in the 2019 Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference.
Almonte’s growth became evident when action resumed in the UAAP after a two-year halt due to the pandemic, as she became a well-rounded athlete for the team.
Her superb floor defense, coupled with her smart attacking, helped Adamson to a joint-fourth finish in Season 84 but faltered in the playoff for the last Final Four ticket, extending the school’s playoff drought to six seasons.
She even suited up as libero for a couple of games for the then-Lerma Giron squad.
Then, in the following year, Almonte, along with Louie Romero, Kate Santiago, and Trisha Tubu, finally harvested the fruit of their hard work, leading the Lady Falcons to the bronze medal.
However, adversities hit Adamson as Jerry Yee was released by the school, followed by an exodus of players.
Left to lead the team for Season 86 were Almonte and Lorene Toring. However, the latter suffered a season-ending ACL injury a month before the tournament even commenced.
These challenges toughened Almonte, who was barely used in her final season at Adamson, now coached by JP Yude. Now, she hopes that all the experiences and challenges that came her way can help her in her next step moving forward.
“Siguro ‘yung pagkawala ni Lorene ay may purpose talaga, kasi isa rin siya sa mga seniors namin, pero may purpose talaga si Lord, dahil kami ‘yung matitirang seniors at kailangan naming pagtrabahuhan, kailangan naming mag-step up para sa mga matitira,” said Almonte.
“Feeling ko nakatulong ‘yun sa pag-mature namin, sa pag-grow kung paano mag-handle ng team.”
