University of the Philippines has been through tough times for the last four seasons after a hard-earned third-place finish back in the UAAP Season 77 Seniors Baseball Tournament.
And on Wednesday, in front of its home crowd in its own field of dreams, Mark Tuballas and the rest of the Fighting Maroons finally ended not just four seasons of dark times, but also 16 long seasons of Finals drought after holding off a gritty Adamson University side, 5-4.
For Tuballas, it was all worth coming back for one last time.
“Finals-bound na kami, first time ko. Muntik na akong maiyak. Sobrang worth it nung pagbalik ko, namin ni Allen (Mercado),” he said.
But first and foremost, it has to start from his decision of trying it once more on the field despite already finishing his Physical Education degree.
“Yung first reason (ko ng pagbalik) is yung suporta sa baseball, sobrang ganda na ngayon. And syempre, natapos ako nang wala kaming napapakita na maganda. Kaya sabi ko, subukan natin ng one last season, baka ngayon kami makapagpakita nang mas maganda,” the senior third baseman added.
The captain, who is in his second degree in Sports Science, noted that most of the turnaround came with the completion of the UP Diliman Baseball Field.
“Dati, imagine, nagte-train pa kami sa Sto. Niño (Baseball Field in Marikina City). Ba-biyahe kami ng ilang minuto o oras para mag-training lang. Ngayon, sobrang laking bagay sa ‘min ng field. Sobrang salamat namin kila Dean Kiko (Diaz) na napagawa nila tong field. Laking tulong na may field na mapapa-practice-an talaga,” he said.
And now, in this very same field, the Fighting Maroons will look to fulfill its goals of making it back on top.
“Expect niyo na mas gagalingan pa namin, mas i-le-lessen namin yung errors. Mas maipapakita pa namin yung mga palo namin and mas magiging maingay na kami sa loob,” vowed Tuballas.
