Far Eastern University-DN Steel’s future looks bright as it added another weapon to its arsenal in Christian Paul Salboro.
Salboro rose to prominence in his final year playing for Zamboanga Peninsula in the Palarong Pambansa, where he bagged the 2025 Most Valuable Player and Best Scorer awards.
Now, the 6-foot outside spiker is already making waves for the Tamaraws in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference organized by Sports Vision and supported by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings n’ Things, and Arena Plus.
Salboro debuted on Wednesday with 13 points on 11-of-21 attacks in FEU-DN Steel’s four-set loss to Savouge.
He then followed it up with 10 points and seven excellent receptions in their bounce-back 25-23, 25-16, 31-33, 25-17 victory over PGJC-Navy on Friday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
What makes his performance even more impressive is that the 18-year-old rookie barely gets to practice with the team as he is also training for the upcoming UAAP Season 88 Beach Volleyball Tournament.
(C) Spikers Turf Images
“Nagpapasalamat po talaga ako kay Coach Ed sa tiwala kasi minsan lang po ako makapag-training dito sa indoor, gawa nga po ng nagti-training din ako sa beach. Grateful po ako na isinama ako sa lineup dito sa Spikers’ Turf, kaya nagpapasalamat po ako sa coaches,” said Salboro, who makes every moment in the men’s pioneering league count.
Salboro has also proven to be a Swiss Army knife for the Tamaraws, capable of switching roles when needed. He showed this versatility when he represented the Zamboanga City Volleyball Club in the 2025 PNVF U21 National Championships, where he was named Best Opposite Spiker.
Despite being heavily recruited by several universities — including National University — for his exceptional talent, Salboro’s heart has always belonged to FEU.
“Actually po, may mga school po talaga na kumukuha rin pero mas malapit po talaga ang puso ko sa FEU. Yung puso ko po nalapit talaga sa FEU kaya pinili ko po ito,” he shared.
Head coach Eddieson Orcullo, who had been aware of Salboro’s potential even before college, admitted that the Tamaraws had long been eyeing him to join their ranks.
“High school pa lang yan, talagang gusto namin makasama si Paul sa team namin. Actually, maraming school ang kumukuha diyan eh, siguro talagang tadhana lang na magsama kami,” said Orcullo.
“Si Paul ang magpapa-champion sa amin sa UAAP.”
