Lycha Ebon didn’t choose jersey number 2. If she had her way, Ebon would have worn number 7, but teammate France Ronquillo beat her to it.
After all, number 2 in Green and Gold belonged Bernadeth Pons, Far Eastern University’s ace from Seasons 76 to 80.
For a program that values tradition as much as FEU, Ebon wearing the former ace’s number is almost symbolic.
The lefty, 5-foot-8 spiker showed why she carried lofty expectations. She led FEU to their debut win in the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, scoring 13 points against National University.
Ebon had worn number 2 in the PVL Collegiate Conference. While she may never shed the jersey number, Ebon will most likely be FEU’s star going forward.
“Happy po ako kasi first time ko pong mag-UAAP tapos panalo pa. Kanina, iniisip ko na lang po ‘yung mga tinuro sa amin ni coach. Kasi ‘yun ‘yung parati niyang sinasabi na sundin niyo lang, at mananalo tayo,” said the Davao native, adding that she had talked to Pons about the number.
“Pero sabi naman ni Ate Pons, ‘Number lang ‘yan eh.’ ‘Yun na lang ang pinapanghawakan ko. Hindi ko na mina-mind ang sinasabi ng mga tao. Hindi naman nila alam ang sa side namin talaga.”
FEU head coach George Pascua was complimentary of his rookie, but concedes that they have plenty to work out moving forward.
“Nakikita namin ‘yung potential ng bawat isa. Siyempre sabi ko nga sa kanila, ‘yung laro ngayon is labanan ng character na lang eh, kasi ang skill, pare-pareho lang naman ‘yun eh,” said Pascua.
“‘Yun ang isa sa mga wino-work on namin. Hopefully ma-sustain namin until the end of the season.”
