Al-Bukharie Sali is a promising rookie for University of Santo Tomas.
He is easy to spot during the Golden Spikers’ games in the 2024 V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge, thanks to his towering 6-foot-5 stature as a wing spiker.
In the four games he has played so far, the 18-year-old from Tawi-Tawi has made a strong impression, whether in limited minutes or with more playing time, scoring 16 points in his debut against De La Salle, eight against NU, nine against Perpetual, and 14 against Letran.
What’s remarkable is that Sali is only going to get better, given that he only started playing volleyball two years ago.
“Magtu-two years pa lang po akong naglalaro ng volleyball,” said Sali on Wednesday after UST’s four-set win against Letran.
“Si Papa ko kasi ang nag-push sa akin eh na mag-training, mag-jogging every morning ganon. Ginigising niya po talaga ako ng madaling araw para magjogging. Dati po kasi ano ako eh tambay-tambay lang ganon,” he added.
(c) PVL Images
His father paved the way for what has been a very busy but successful two years for Sali.
Ralph Ocampo, head coach of Spikers’ Turf mainstay team VNS, was the first to discover Sali and give him exposure two years ago.
Ocampo saw a video of Sali playing in Tawi-Tawi during its province day as a middle blocker. At that time, Sali was still raw and barely knew how to play the sport properly.
Nevertheless, as a developmental coach, Ocampo could not pass up the opportunity to mentor a 6-foot-5 talent. He recruited Sali to play for VNS and Mapua High School in the NCAA, where Sali played out his final year of senior high school.
After a year of training, repetition, and routine, Sali became a highly sought-after recruit out of high school, receiving offers and interest from most UAAP and NCAA schools.
UST won the lottery.
“Masaya po ako sobra, syempre nasa UST na po ako eh. Malaking school ito. Nakita ko po kasi na sa UST po ako mag-grow as a player and as a student-athlete,” said Sali, as the Golden Spikers were coming off back-to-back Finals appearances in the UAAP.
