The 2016 edition of the Shakey’s V-League proved to be one busy season for the ever-improving University of the Philippines Lady Maroons.
The Diliman squad somehow became a fixture in the country’s oldest volleyball league by joining all three conferences – Open, Collegiate, and now the Reinforced edition.
The Open Conference saw UP finish in sixth with a 3-4 slate, but they made up for it in the Collegiate Conference as they made it to the semis only to bow to the National University, thus settling for a bronze medal finish.
Now in the Reinforced Conference, the Lady Maroons have wrapped up their campaign with a win against Air Force Monday night for a 3-4 card.
But for UP team captain Katherine Bersola, it does not matter anymore even if they make it into the next round or not, saying that the Lady Maroons have gained enough experience from the conferences they played in.
“Kung meant to be [playoffs] eh di go,” said Bersola moments after their win last Monday. “Pero either way, may na-gain naman na kami from this experience so ok lang din kung makapasok kami or hindi for now.”
Joining three straight conferences can truly be exhausting, given the fact that breaks in between are in limited. But for Bersola, she never had any issues with that.
“Sakto lang. Parang ganun lang din kasi eh. Kahit di kami sumali, ganun pa rin. Twice a day sa training, everyday hanggang Linggo, so same lang,” UP’s tower shared.
When asked on for her assessment of UP’s campaign in their three-conference stretch, Bersola described their run as a roller-coaster ride, stressing that they had had their fair share of uplifting wins and sore losses.
“Up and down talaga siya eh. Yung mga wins namin, maganda. Tapos yung mga losses namin, pangit talaga. Process pa siya for us para ma-polish pa yung technical skills namin and yung chemistry namin,” she elaborated.
Their V-League stint this year is about to end, and for Bersola, their run only helped them realize and learn a lot of things – things that they need to work on as a unit to grow even better as their true test is just around the corner.
“Sobrang dami pa namin ma-iimprove, na sobrang dami pa naming puwede matutunan. Ang dami pa naming puwede baguhin. Ang dami pang itinuturo sa’min ni Coach na kailangan naming intindihin at ipakita sa game.”
“From the three conferences, I could say na magandang experience siya for us and nakita natin yung development ng mga plays and yung connections ng tao sa loob.
“Going to UAAP, all in all, maganda siyang build up for us,” said Bersola.
