Team captain Princess Robles was the anchor steadying the ship of National University while the team embarked on a journey to capture the women’s volleyball title in UAAP Season 84.
The native of Arevalo, Iloilo City admitted that it was a tall task to lead a squad filled with new names after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
However, the camaraderie that formed between the Lady Bulldogs made the job easier for Robles, who was expected to lead by example for her younger teammates.
“Nung una po ‘nung na-assign ako as team captain, mahirap siya,” she said. “Yung mga bata parang high school feeling pa pero ‘nung nito nag-bubble kami na araw-araw kami magkakasama, ‘yung feeling na nagiging role model nadin ako sa kanila.
“So nagiging madali ‘yung pagtrabaho ko at pag-lead ko sa kanila kasi sinusuportahan din nila ako and suporta din kaming mga ate sa kanila so madali ‘yung relationship namin sa bawat isa, mas naging easy, mas madali.”
Having familiar faces in the team helped Robles settle in her new role as they welcomed standouts from Nazareth School of National University, which include Mhicaela Bellen, Alyssa Solomon, and Camilla Lamina.
Despite their youth, the confidence that Robles had for her teammates never wavered. They all dreamt of achieving a feat that has never been done by National University before.
“Ako, ‘nung una palang kami nag-start, naisip na namin ni Jennifer [Nierva] and ni Ivy [Lacsina] na kaya namin mag-sweep ngayong season,” Robles shared. “Pero siyempre ‘di naman madali ‘yun, kailangang pag-trabahuhan muna namin.
“So ‘yun po ‘yung sinasabi namin sa isa’t isa, na kaya naming mag-champion ngayong season.”
And true enough, the spikers from Sampaloc spoke it to existence. The vision of winning the crown became clearer by the day as they ended the elimination round with an immaculate 14-0 card.
They sustained their momentum afterward and went on to put up a masterclass performance in the Finals series against DLSU.
Robles shined all throughout after scoring 12 markers on 12 attacks to go with two aces, a block, and four digs in their Game One triumph last Saturday.
She came out with another solid outing three days later with six points on four attacks, a block, and an ace along with 15 excellent digs and six excellent receptions in Game Two.
Robles’ all-around performance on the championship stage didn’t go unnoticed as she was hailed as the Women’s Volleyball Finals Most Valuable Player.
But more importantly, she had a huge imprint in giving National University a sweet victory that was 65 years in the making.
And for that, the sacrifices of the Lady Bulldogs have proven to be well worth it as they ended a longstanding title drought and made their own mark in UAAP history.
“Grabe, super happy ako kasi lahat ng pinaghirapan namin sa training, pinagdaanan namin, ‘yung paghihintay namin, ‘yung paghihintay ng tao samin,” Robles claimed.
“Parang worth it lahat – mga pagalit ni coach, mga teammates ko. Worth it po ‘yung panalo namin.”
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