Far Eastern University rookie Mikko Espartero rose to the occasion, making a significant impact in their Game 1 victory against reigning champion De La Salle University in the best-of-three Finals series of the 2024 V-League Collegiate Challenge.
The 20-year-old outside hitter emerged as the third-best scorer for the Tamaraws in their 25-22, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19 triumph over the Green Spikers, contributing 11 points and nine excellent receptions last Sunday.
“Inaamin ko siguro parang bumaba ‘yung laro ko nitong semis hanggang natapos ngayon,” admitted Espartero, who managed only six points in the semifinals against National University.
“Bumawi lang ako, kailangan ko talagang bumawi kasi siguro sa pressure rin sa coaches na kailangan ko raw mag-step up.”
It’s been a challenging journey for the pride of Tibiao, Antique, but he is grateful to finally contribute meaningfully to a stacked FEU squad.
“Sa tulong din talaga ng coaches. Sa pressure din namin talaga na kailangan talaga namin bumawi and kailangan talaga makuha talaga ‘yung championship,” he said.
“Sabi mo na nga, ‘di smooth ‘yung pagdating namin sa championship. Pero at least nasa championship at ngayon nilinis na namin. Pero kailangan pang linisin talaga para makuha namin ‘yung championship,” he added.
(C) V-League Images
Scouted by the Tamaraws coaching staff after earning MVP honors at the 2023 Gametime Dinagyang Volleyball Boys’ U18 tournament in Iloilo, Espartero was brought in last year and included in the lineup for the 2023 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference.
However, he did not make the team’s UAAP Season 86 roster, which advanced to the semifinals after topping the preliminaries.
They eventually fell to University of Santo Tomas despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage.
Espartero recalled facing challenges early on, including a bout with the flu immediately after his first practice with FEU.
“Siguro nung una, parang syempre galing probinsya ako tapos hindi pa ako sanay sa city life. Nakakatawa pero nagkalagnat ako, nagkasakit ako tapos sa first training ko nagkalagnat ako, nagkatrangkaso ako. Pero day by day, nasanay naman ako,” he shared.
“Opo [nabigla ako], ‘yun talaga ‘yung first training ko. Pagdating ko sa FEU, kinabukasan nagbuhat kami agad. Pagkatapos ng buhat, bola na, training na ng bola. Tapos pagkatapos ng training, pagkatapos ko maligo, nagkalagnat ako, tinrangkaso.”
After initially struggling to adjust, Espartero has become a key contributor for the Tamaraws in their V-League campaign, now just one win away from securing the championship.
“Sabi ng mga coaches na kailangan pa linisin, especially sa service at receive. ‘Yun talaga ‘yung kailangan namin, ‘yung kulang namin na kailangan linisin. Konti lang ‘yung mga errors pero sa service receive ‘yun ‘yung especially para sa akin.”
