De La Salle University entered the 2025 V-League Collegiate Challenge with tempered expectations following the departure of key players from their recent tournament runs and from their mother league, the UAAP.
Gone are Noel Kampton, Menard Guerrero, and Vince Maglinao.
Perhaps the most significant loss is at the setter position, with the team bidding farewell to Gen Poquita and UAAP Season 87 Best Setter, Eco Adajar.
However, De La Salle fans and supporters need not worry.
Head coach Jose Roque and his staff had been preparing for this transition. Fortunately, a talented playmaker emerged right at their doorstep — someone who could match the skills of Adajar.
NJ Bangit, a 20-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, came to the Philippines with his volleyball club, FilAm Nation Select, to participate in a tournament.
Part of their tour included a visit to the De La Salle campus.
During this visit, Roque and Bangit discussed the possibility of him joining the Green Spikers, leading to what would become an exciting opportunity for both sides.
Bangit was introduced to volleyball at a young age due to his family’s involvement in the sport, but he didn’t fully embrace it until recently.
“I came from a volleyball family, so everyone in my family plays volleyball, but it was one of the last sports I picked up. I played before, but it was just when I turned 16 that I took it seriously,” he shared.
“It’s like, I was familiar with it, but it was not my passion yet.”
(C) V-League Images
As he grew up, he tried various positions as a spiker.
Ultimately, his father Joe — also a setter and his coach — encouraged him to take on the setter role.
“Well, my dad is a setter, and he’s my coach. So, I naturally gravitated towards setting, but I played opposite, middle, and outside. But now, setting is my passion. I started playing it when I took the sport seriously when I was in my second year in high school,” Bangit said.
Approaching his first game as the team’s main playmaker, Bangit admitted feeling both pressure and excitement to showcase the talent his coaches had recognized that day at the Enrique Razon Sports Complex.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but most of it was coming from myself. The last two setters of the team were Kuya Poqs (Poquita) and then Kuya Eco — and it was a lot because he plays for the national team, and you also have to fill that void as a setter. You touch the most almost every single play, but I know myself and how I can play, and I think I showed glimpses of that today,” he continued.
“But when I walked into the court, it all kind of went away; I was more excited than I was nervous.”
Bangit not only displayed flashes of potential but also gave a preview of his capabilities, delivering 20 excellent sets in a sweep against NCAA champion Arellano University last Sunday.
With his first game behind him, Bangit now looks ahead to their next challenge — a match against another titleholder, National University.
“Our next game is on Tuesday and we play the UAAP champs — wala sila (Jade) Disquitado and the other main guys, but still, NU is a respectable program with coach Dante (Alinsunurin) there. But, I’m really excited,” he said.
“We lost seven seniors — the whole starting lineup — but it is an opportunity to find a new identity for the Green Spikers. And with a new setter, me, and my teammates at the helm, it’s up to us how to lead this team into the future with a lot of these young players, too. I’m just, not nervous, but excited to lead this team.”
