One of the most celebrated volleyball programs in the country, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, finally broke a four-season Final Four drought in Season 79.
Although they had several seniors on the team playing out their final year of UAAP eligibility, hopes were still high for the Tigresses to build on their momentum and contend for a championship in Season 80, when other top teams have lost several key veterans.
Unfortunately, UST have one of the unluckiest of all UAAP teams. It began with their starting middle blocker Ria Meneses announcing that she will not play out her fifth playing year.
Then, late in December, one of their best scorers Ej Laure revealed that she was going to miss Season 80 to recover from a severe shoulder injury, which she has reportedly been playing through since her sophomore year.
The Tigresses can afford to lose Pam Lastimosa, Chloe Cortez, and Alex Cabanos as they have already groomed replacements in seasons prior. Losing Meseses and Laure is a different story.
—
Heading into his third season as head coach of the Tigresses, Kungfu Reyes is used to things not as going as planned.
When he first took over in Season 78, Reyes had planned to have Ej Laure’s younger sister Eya, along with other blue chip Junior Tigresses, come in from UST high school the following season and begin contending in Season 79. The academic shift to a K-12 system dashed his initial scheme. But the stern mentor made the most of what he had and squeezed every bit of potential out of his lineup to get his squad to the Final Four.
Reyes probably gets his resourcefulness from his military background. A longtime coach of the Army volleyball program, Reyes has seen better days when it comes to recruiting players for the military. Yet he still manages to get wins and championships with his scrappy troop of veterans.
It’s much of the same in UST, Reyes laments, as other programs have gotten ahead in attracting top caliber talent.
During one particular practice, Reyes looked on as his Junior Tigresses finished up their training while the Golden Tigresses warmed up on the sidelines.
“Ganoon talaga ang reality. Siyempre, kung ikaw ang player, doon ka pupunta sa pinakamaganda ang offer sa’yo, kung saan maganda ang opportunity mo. So, madalas, ang napupunta sa amin is ‘yung mga gusto talagang maglaro o mag-aral sa UST. Maganda ‘yun, pero iba pa din kapag nakakakuha ka nang matatangkad na may talent,” Reyes reflected.
“Pero, siyempre, lalaban pa ‘rin. Malaki ang tiwala ko sa mga players ko. Hindi man sila ‘yung pinakamatatangkad, pero buwis-buhay naman sa ensayo para gumaling.”
It’s not hard to see where Reyes gets his sentiments. After losing the tall and athletic Laure, Reyes’ best player on the Tigresses is Cherry Rondina, who has the height of a libero but the athleticism of a basketball power forward. The Tigeresses will also rely on Dimdim Pacres, the hefty lefty whose powerful swings rightfully earned her the nickname, “Boom”. Team captain Shanen Palec and Tin Francisco will also be two of the shorter middle blockers in the league.
Reyes is counting on his team’s off-season excursions – a second straight Uni Games title, a stint in the PSL, and a training camp in Thailand – to have hopefully boosted his team’s morale enough to move past their sudden loss of key players.
“So ‘yun nga, buti na lang at nag-PSL kami, solid ‘yung line-up namin, wala ‘yung EJ Laure, wala ‘yung Sisi Rondina. Pero ‘yung core ng team, andoon pa rin ‘yung mga bata. So ito na ‘yung pinaka-magandang blessing in disguise para sa amin, na naka-ready kami anu’t ano man ang mangyari ngayong season na ito,” Reyes said.
Keeping Reyes confident is Laure’s replacement, Carla Sandoval. The third-year winger has always had success when UST played without Laure. Sandoval now gets her biggest opportunity of her career.
“Para sa akin kasi sobrang laking kawalan ni Ate EJ kasi sobrang kompleto na niya as a player,” Sandoval said. “Tapos para palitan siya siguro kailangan ko pa nang maraming experience. Marami na kasi siyang nalaro tapos ako bata pa.
“So ‘yung unang pumasok sa akin, kaya ko ba yun? Tapos inisip ko na lang kakayanin ko para sa team kasi may mga kasama naman ako na nagtitiwala din sa akin.”
—
A team often takes on the personality of its leader. And while she may not be the team captain, Rondina is as close to the personification of a Tigress as one is going to get.
“Kahit may anim akong Sisi (Rondina), makakalaban kami dito sa UAAP,” Reyes boldly claimed during his first year as head coach.
The Cebuana is a fiery sort who wears her emotions on her sleeves. Sometimes, her reactions on-court are even more explosive than her spike approach. Rondina has been known to grate on her teammates, but her passion always win them back.
“Talagang intense ‘yan sa Sisi. Gustong-gusto talaga manalo, lahat gagawin niyan,” said Pacres, one of Rondina’s closest friends on the team.
“Masasanay ka din naman sa kanya. Lahat ng mga reactions niya bunga lang ‘yun ng passion. Nakakahawa ‘yun at maganda na may kasama kang ganoon sa court.”
For her part, Rondina has learned to tone down, especially compared to her rookie days when she was also fighting for a spot in the starting lineup. Her beach volleyball experience has helped her tremendously. In a setting with only her and a partner competing, with no coaches on the sidelines, Rondina has learned to act more like a leader. She’s already one of the most successful beach players in the country. The only accolade she still craves is an indoor UAAP title.
“Sa akin, sa sarili ko, parang magiging masaya ang expectations ko sa season. Always naman ‘yun. Masaya ‘yung pagpasok ng UAAP, parang ini-imagine ko na masanay na kami sa ganitong masaya kami lagi. Positive yung bato sa amin,” Rondina said.
“First year pa lang ako pangarap ko na talaga mag-champion. Pero, ‘yun nga, may time naman sa mga ganyang sitwasyon. Ako sinabi ko na gusto ko first year pa lang na magkaroon ng gold talaga o championship,” the pint-sized spiker added.
“Ngayon naman wala akong ibang iniisip, ilaban lang kung anong meron kami kasi matic naman ‘yan if ever kung ilalaban mo talaga, kung gusto mo talaga, kung gustuhin talaga namin. Ilalaban talaga namin, matic na magcha-champion.”
—
As Reyes lamented his past challenges with recruitment, the UST program received what could be their biggest blessing of the past few years.
Milena Alessandrini had tried out for other UAAP schools like La Salle and Ateneo, but was enamored with the royal and pontifical university.
Standing at six-foot-three, the Fil-Italian already has experience in the highly-competitive Italian club scene. Still, Reyes wants UST supporters to temper their expectations. While Alessandrini definitely packs a punch, she’s still raw talent yet to reach her peak.
“May skills na si Milena, mataas tumalon tapos may galaw naman for her height. Pero, siyempre, naga-adjust pa ‘yan sa sistema natin dito kasi nga mas mabilis talaga gumalaw ‘yung teammates niya,” Reyes said.
“May adjustment pa din siya sa language, sa kultura natin dito. Although, malaking bagay na nakasama na namin siya sa Thailand kasi ngayon nakikita mong kumportable na siya sa teammates niya. Nakiki-bonding na ‘din.”
—
Reyes likes to use Army terminology often when coaching his UST wards. He’s been known to describe big games as kill-or-be-killed situations.
“Hindi naman pwedeng susugod kami nang wala kaming baril o bala. Dito sa UAAP, unang kumurap, patay,” he described UST’s Final Four situation last year.
When Ej Laure went down, Reyes took an almost militaristic approach. The war doesn’t stop even if a comrade falls in the midst of battle.
“Sa state of mind, sa amin magsisimula ‘yan, sa coaches. Kung magiging negative kami, siguro magre-reflect down the line ‘yung nararamdaman namin. Kaya isang araw lang namin talaga inisip na wala si Ej. Pero the next day, kailangan mo maghanap ng panibagong solusyon. So ganoon din sila. We don’t even talk about it na wala na si EJ, ganito-ganyan, kasi pwede namang mabuhay pa ‘yung team eh. Hindi naman ‘to EJ’s team, it’s everybody’s team, UST team kami,” Reyes mused.
“So ‘yun na nga, malaking kawalan ‘yung EJ Laure. Saan kami pupulot ng 17 points, 15 points, 16 points per game? Saan kami kukuha? Doon kami nag-concentrate ngayon, saan tayo kukuha. Kahit at least 10, 12, si Sisi na ang bahala mag-fill up or sila Dimdim, mag-fill up ng remaining five, six. Magtutulong-tulungan.”
