ROGER Gorayeb is a hard man to please.
The man has been in the business for more than 30 years, churning out star players and championships everywhere he went. Gorayeb, however, was barely ever confident during his first two seasons at the helm of the National University Lady Bulldogs.
Having started his tenure with the Sampaloc-based program by navigating them out of a tailspin into one game away from the Season 77 Finals, Gorayeb absorbed the mid-season implosion of their promising Season 78 campaign.
But the man fondly called “Jolly Roger” seems especially relaxed heading into Season 79.
One might say it’s easy to relax when you have Jaja Santiago, the mythical beast turned volleyball player, on your team. The Lady Bulldogs also won the Philippine V-League Collegiate Conference without guest players, which would make any coach sleep lighter. But Gorayeb’s confidence comes from a more personal place – he finally feels that this is his team.
The Lady Bulldogs’ frustrating Season 78 took root outside of the court, festering in the team’s chemistry and eventually their record. Gorayeb’s intensely rigid system was not sticking with the Lady Bulldogs. So he trimmed the fat.
Losing not only three seniors in Myla Pablo, Asi Soliven, and Ivy Perez, the Lady Bulldogs also let go of starting libero Bia General and young pieces Marites Pablo, Rica Diolan, and Klarice Abriam.
Left with only 10 players, the Lady Bulldogs persisted in the V-League Open Conference. They dragged established club teams to five sets, leading to a surprising Collegiate Conference campaign.
Even with just 11 players on the lineup for Season 79, Gorayeb insists that this team is more complete and talented than previous iterations.
“Medyo maganda this year. After magkaroon ng revamp noong April, iba na – ‘yung sistema na gusto ko na ‘yung nasusunod. Madali ko sila naco-control. Mas maganda ‘yung flow ng training namin. At itong team na talaga ‘yung napili ko,” Gorayeb told Tiebreaker Times.
“Parang it’s a 180 degree turn from last year. Kita naman ‘yung laro namin from last year. Dati 18 kami dito. Ngayon 10 lang pero kita mong lahat gumagana. Lahat, ‘yung puso nila nasa team talaga. Wala na sila masyadong iniisip sa labas.”
“Makikita mo talaga last year na ‘yun ‘yung problema ng team – kulang sa chemistry, communication tapos madali pang magkaroon ng doubt sa sarili,” Santiago added.
“This year ramdam mo na mas disiplinado at determinado na lahat kami. Kahit mas kaunti kami, parang lahat gusto talagang makatulong sa team. Mas displinado na kami this year.”
On paper, Santiago seems like NU’s only formidable piece. The 6-foot-5 middle blocker won everywhere she competed over the off-season — with Foton in the PSL and NU in the PVL — garnering MVP awards from both leagues. She was also selected to represent the country in the FIVB World Club Championship held in Manila late last year.
It became clear throughout the off-season that Santiago was the most dominant player in the country. Surround her with enough talent and Santiago takes care of most of the team’s scoring and blocking needs.
If other teams are looking at NU as one-woman show, Gorayeb and Santiago believe they are sorely underestimating the team.
Open hitter Jorelle Singh was a steady force through NU’s buildup, even getting a chance to shine when she played for the Laoag Power Smashers in the Reinforced Conference.
Aiko Urdas, two years removed from her ACL injury, showed flashes of her old form and was pivotal in NU’s clash with the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles in the Collegiate Conference Finals.
Fil-Japanese middle blocker Risa Sato also debuted for NU in the V-League. In Sato, the Lady Bulldogs have gained a formidable rotation partner for Jaja, the best she’s had since her sister Dindin last played for NU in Season 76.
“Siyempre ‘yun ang basa nila sa amin kasi tingin nila ‘di naman nag-iimprove ‘yung iba. Araw-araw ko silang kasama. Si Jaja lang tinitignan nila. Si Aiko (Urdas) halos bumalik na ‘yung laro niya. Si Jorelle (Singh) ang laki na in-improve niya. Nandiyan si Sato na very effective,” Gorayeb remarked.
But the grizzled mentor is most excited about Jasmine Nabor. The former utility hitter was converted to setter out of necessity when NU lost of their playmakers in the April cut. Gorayeb points out that NU has had Jaja Santiago for three years but could never find the perfect tosser to feed her offense. With Nabor, the NU offense isn’t just optimizing Santiago but all the possible scoring options.
“Pero si Jasmine (Nabor) ang pinakamalaking factor sa amin. Kasi si Jaja kahit naman dati nandiyan na ‘yan pero di gumagana. Pero ngayon gumagana si Jaja. Why? Because of Nabor.
“Napapagana niya si Jaja, napapapalo niya lahat. Dati ‘din kapag pumunta na si Jaja sa likod, wala na silang binabantayan. Ngayon napunuan na. Nandiyan na si Sato, si Jorelle at Aiko malaking bagay na sila,” Gorayeb remarked.
Nabor even managed to draw a comparison to three-time UAAP MVP Alyssa Valdez from her her mentor.
“‘Yung setting niya mabilis na na-pick up. Maganda din ‘yung attitude niya ‘pag tinuturuan. Parang si Alyssa (Valdez) noong araw. Hindi mo makikitaan ‘yan ng nakasimangot kahit nahihirapan na. Sige lang ng sige ‘yan,” Gorayeb explained.
“Ang problema lang kay Jasmine, sa sobrang baet niya, nakakalimot siya na setter siya na kailangan niya dalhin niya ‘yung team niya. Sabi ko nga dapat niya nang taasan ‘yung confidence level niya kasi siya na madadala sa teammates niya. Bata pa din kasi si Jasmine kaya feeling niya sa laro, bata pa din siya. Ang gusto ko, ‘yung leadership niya at control sa spikers niya, parang senior na dapat siya.”
It’s easy to dismiss Gorayeb’s compliments as just hype for his young setter. But a quick Google search shows that Gorayeb has never spoken this fondly of an NU setter.
“Siguro nakaka-overwhelm po. Pero tine-take ko siya as challenge. Ito po kasi ‘yung role na kailangan sa akin ng team kaya ito ‘yung gagampanan ko,” Nabor meekly remarked.
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There’s irony in how NU look coming into Season 79. Here’s a program that had diligently recruited as much talent as they could get their hands on over the past few years, but now, they head into the UAAP with just 11 players. Roger Gorayeb would not have it any other way.
“Hindi ako naniniwala sa strength in numbers. Aanhin mo ang dami ng player kung hindi naman lahat magagamit? Itong team na ‘to, sa tingin ko, ang pinaka-stable na team na inilabas ng NU.”
Season 79 promises to be one of the most unpredictable seasons ever. A mad climb to the Final Four bodes well for a team with less bodies — an NU team with less baggage.
