A highly-respected member of the volleyball community passed away Monday evening.
Decorated tactician Ronald “Ron” Dulay (April 24, 1972-August 3, 2020) was pronounced dead Monday evening after a long battle with bone marrow disease.
He was just 48 years old.
His friend and fellow coach Arjay Francisco of Faith Christian School shared the development to Tiebreaker Times.
Dulay has been in volleyball for almost three decades.
As a student-athlete in Far Eastern University, Dulay, who despite lacking height, willed the Tamaraws to championships in Seasons 54, 56, and 57.
After his playing years, he trained to be a coach at Philippine Cultural College and FEU.
He would then be tapped to coach the DLSU Green Spikers, steering the school to the top in Seasons 64 and 66.
Dulay would, later on, try his luck with coaching women’s volleyball.
He moved to Ateneo to build the blocks of the school’s volleyball program. He guided the Charo Soriano-led Lady Eagles to their first-ever Final Four appearance in Season 69 while forming the foundation for the Blue Eagles.
After being replaced by Roger Gorayeb, Dulay would then jump to University of the Philippines from Seasons 70 to 72. He compiled a record of 11-31. He also coached Letran’s Women’s Volleyball Team at the same time before being replaced by Brian Esquiebel.
He returned to La Salle in Season 76 but could not replicate the magic he had in the mid-2000s. Dulay was not renewed by the school after finishing with a 4-8 record in Season 78.
In the club scene, he would be part of Foton and Generika before being named as head coach of SMART during the 2018 PSL Grand Prix. The Giga Hitters went 0-10 in the tourney.
Prior to the pandemic, Dulay was still strong according to his friends as he was still working with Marinerang Pilipina.
He also worked hand-in-hand with his good friend Ramil de Jesus, steering the Philippines to bronze in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. He was also part of the staff of Sammy Acaylar’s Men’s National Volleyball Team.
