Nickole Dela Cruz remembers the pain—not just of the hyperextended knee that cut short her first-ever UAAP Finals appearance in Season 85, but of watching from the sidelines last year, unable to contribute the way she wanted.
Now, fully recovered and back in peak form, the University of the Philippines centerfielder is making up for lost time, determined to lead the Fighting Maroons to another shot at the championship.
For the past two seasons, UP has come agonizingly close to its fifth UAAP Softball title.
And while their Season 87 campaign hasn’t been perfect, Dela Cruz’s resurgence has given them a major boost.
“Ang naging adjustment ko kasi is, una, nakabalik na talaga ko.
“Kahit sa pag-depensa, so nagiging tuluy-tuloy ‘yung momentum ba ng isa’t isa. Kasi kung masimulan ‘yung momentum, mahirap siyang putulin eh. Kaya ang ginagawa namin is lagi lang kaming nagte-training na pampataas ng kumpiyansa, para pagdating namin dito, mataas ‘yung kumpiyansa namin sa sarili una, at siyempre, sa mga kasama namin,” said Dela Cruz, UP’s starting centerfielder.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Last season, she was limited to a designated player role, primarily batting for pitchers and occasionally for infielders. But now, the Season 85 Athlete of the Year is starting to regain her dominant form.
“Siyempre, masaya ko. Kasi sabi ko nga after nung first hit ko, ‘Wow, I’m back.’ Masaya ko kasi alam kong makakatulong na ko sa team; na alam kong may maasahan na ulit silang isang ate,” shared Dela Cruz, who has been on fire this season with six hits in eight at-bats for a staggering .750 batting average.
“And sa tingin ko naman, nakabalik na ko. Kahit papaano, alam ko na may hindi lang kami isang aasahan sa depensa, kundi nadagdagan ‘yung opensa namin. Malaking dagdag ‘yon sa team namin.”
UP suffered a tough 8-14 loss against Adamson University after securing back-to-back abbreviated wins over Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. Despite the setback, Dela Cruz—now in her second year as team captain—embraced the lessons learned from those three matches.
“Ngayon na napaluan kami, na-feel na uli namin ‘yung kumpitensya. Mas na-feel namin ngayon ‘yung, ‘Oo nga, dapat hindi lang pitcher ang gumagana sa team.’ Dapat lahat talaga kami nagco-contribute. At parang naramdaman din namin na sa gitna ng kaguluhan, dapat may isa talagang magpaalala na kumalma muna ang lahat,” she said.
“And sa tingin ko, malaki ang natutunan namin sa game na ‘to. Sa dami ng errors namin, maraming natutunan ang bawat isa sa ‘min. Hindi rin kami sanay sa field na ‘to, pero ngayon, nalalaman na namin kung paano ‘yung patak ng bola at kung paano mag-adjust sa bawat makakalaban namin.”
Dela Cruz and the Fighting Maroons aim to put these lessons to good use as they prepare for their final first-round matchup against the University of Santo Tomas Softbelles on Tuesday at 8 a.m.
