Yoyong Mendoza never stopped training despite having no team during the height of the pandemic. And he still in condition thanks to home workouts.
Then VNS-One Alicia head coach Ralph Ocampo came calling last January for an under-21 league – when sports, slowly but surely, began its crawl to normalcy.
Eight months after, the 17-year-old outside hitter is starting to carve his name in the 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
“Nitong January po, kinuha po ako ni Coach Ralph kinontact niya po ako kung pwede akong maglaro sa kaniya kasi may upcoming under-21 tapos ayun po nagtuloy-tuloy na sa Spikers’ Turf,” said the 6-foot spiker, who was a high school varsity player at Trinitas College in Bulacan before COVID-19 hits the world.
“Sobrang laki ng tulong sa akin ng VNS at lalo na itong Spikers’ Turf.”
Mendoza, whose real first name is Uriel but prefers Yoyong, was a consistent performer for the Griffins in their first two matches.
He tallied 10 points in their victory against Ateneo-Fudgee Barr. But it was against Santa Rosa City where he shone brightly even more.
The young spiker pumped life to VNS-One Alicia to survive the Lions in a five-setter, 25-23, 21-25, 22-25, 30-28, 15-13, Saturday at Paco Arena.
There, he punched in 12 points and eight receptions on his way to getting the Player of the Game citation.
“Ang laki pong experience sa akin para po sa background ko pagpunta ko po sa college,” said Mendoza.
And in VNS-One Alicia, he is in the care of good hands of national team mainstays Ish Polvorosa and Kim Malabunga.
As one of the younglings of the Griffins, Mendoza is trying to sponge all the tips and advice he can get from the veterans.
“‘Yung naituturo po nila Kuya Ish, Kuya Kim sa akin is ‘yung pagiging professional magisip at ‘yung mindset po,” Mendoza added.
“Nasa ibang level na po kami, wala na kami sa under-21 hindi naman namin ka-edad ‘yung kalaban namin so kailangan namin mag step up or mag level up ng mindset at disiplina sa sarili.”
VNS-One Alicia will next face Cignal on Thursday, 2:30 pm, in an early clash at the top of the standings.
And the youthful Mendoza will have a face-to-face with one of the country’s best hitters in Marck Espejo, hoping to learn from his opponent this time.
