University of the East head coach Karl Dimaculangan is plotting the Lady Red Warriors’ rise to contention in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Volleyball Tournament. And he’s banking on his seniors to spearhead the uprising.
With the departure of Kath Arado, Judith Abil, Roselle Baliton, Lai Bendong, and Jasmine Alcayde, the mantle of leadership falls on the shoulders of freshly-minted captain Mean Mendrez, as well as veterans Seth Rodriguez and Zilfa Olarve.
“Sila talaga ‘yung mag-lead. Kausapin nila. Even on and off the court, pinapa-feel o pinapa-try ko rin sa kanila na maging leader sila,” said Dimaculangan, who is entering his second season as the chief tactician of UE.
“With the help of the players ko, siguro tiwala lang ‘yung players sa amin. So tingin ko mas maging [palaban] kami, hindi kami basta [papatalo]. Mag-compete kami ngayon.“
The Lady Warriors are steadily improving season after season, culminating in a seventh-place, 3-11 finish a year ago — their best campaign in the age-old league in recent memory.
That, however, didn’t completely wash away the pain of falling out of contention time and time again. And so, Rodriguez and Mendrez are leading UE by example in a bid to guide the team further out of the abyss.
“Kami nga ‘yung unang magpapakita, kami ‘yung unang maga-all-out. Kami ‘yung magdadala ng team, tutulong sa coaches na madala ‘yung team. Tapos ‘yun nga, all-out kami kasi ayaw namin mangyari ‘yung sa last season na puro pagsisisi,” Rodriguez asserted.
Mendrez then chimed in, saying: “Siyempre last year kailangan all-out ka. Hindi pwede na sa dulo magsisisi ka na final year na, wala kang nagawa, wala kang natulong sa team mo. So parang motivated kami na kailangan kami ‘yung mag lead sa team namin, disiplina, pati makatulong na din.”
As the full-fledged captain of a relatively young team, Mendrez acknowledges that she should be as vocal as possible on and off the court. But as someone always known as a self-effacing operator for UE, she’s still working on being a mature voice.
“‘Yun ‘yung wino-workout ko simula noong naging captain ball ako.
“Sinasanay ko na sarili ko noon na tinanggap ko na isa ako sa magiging senior. Kailangan maging vocal na ako sa kanila kung ano ‘yung nararamdaman ko, kung paano ko sila iha-handle kasi parang sobrang hirap na ano… Kahit ngayon ‘yung mga bata, kailangan talaga makuha ‘yung attention nila para sumunod talaga sila sa ‘yo,” Mendrez admitted.
There’s no guarantee that this season will be better than the previous ones. Still, the Lady Red Warriors remain dead set on reaching greater heights regardless.
“Mas mataas lang kami ngayon na ta-target-in. Ta-try namin [mapasok] ‘yung Final Four, pero mahirap, so improve muna kami siguro tapos team standing kasi mababa pa.”
