| |
|
Ateneo Volleyball Teams: Rising Action
|
|
by Rick Olivares, December 16, 2009
|
|
 No longer a cellar dweller, the Ateneo volleyball teams do more than battle foes on the court. There’s the matter of pride and scholarships.
In the University Athletics Association of the Philippines, schools are mandated to field teams in two sports – basketball and volleyball.
It is a testament to the growing popularity of volleyball that not only the league but also others across the country have thousands playing the game. And two leagues -- the V-League and the UAAP -- are carried on television.
The Ateneo has never been known to be a volleyball power but the school did win back-to-back NCAA titles in 1975 -76 behind Choy Cojuangco, Louie Gepuela, and Jimmy Javier. Once the school migrated to the UAAP, the men’s and women’s teams were perennial cellar dwellers.
Until the new millennium when better recruiting and improved training changed the face of Ateneo volleyball.
The last two years, both teams made the Final Four and other schools have had to adjust their game plan accordingly as Ateneo is no longer an automatic win for them.
The men’s team under former Letran player Oliver Almadro and the women’s team under the multi-titled San Sebastian Stags benchmaster Roger Gorayeb improved significantly and have been one of the toughest squads to beat.
Even with better coaching and training (the women’s team, backstopped by former DLSU team manager Tony Liao have twice gone to Thailand in the off-season for further training), getting players for the team isn’t easy. Scholarships aren’t exactly easy to get in Ateneo and once they’re in, staying in while juggling academics and athletics is no easy feat.
The sad fact in schools today is a win-at-all-costs mentality where education takes a backseat to athletic mercenaries. And unknowingly, these athletes are more or less not prepared for life beyond college as the only viable means of livelihood based on sports is basketball, coaching, or physical education. The first is very competitive on the professional level while the latter two aren’t exactly in demand. Yet many still succumb to temporary gain.
Finding players who fit the mold of student-athlete isn’t easy. Gorayeb, with his keen eye for talent, has not problem finding players. After all, it’s Ateneo. But getting in is his biggest concern. “We just have to make the most out of what we have,” he explained. “Kaya nga sabi, One Big Fight.”
“Dati, okay lang matalo kasi at the end of the day Atenista pa rin tayo,” said Almadro of the excuse after a loss. “Now that’s no longer the case. We train our players to go out there and play hard. Yung meron pride.”
The results are revealing. If no one took the Ateneo volleyball teams seriously, now they videotape their game to device ways to beat them.
“You can say that we’ve arrived,” shared University Athletics Director Ricky Palou. “But we don’t want to simply compete and make it hard for others to win. We want to win as well. But we do things the right way.”
The men’s volleyball team currently totes a 1-3 record. But as bad as it may sound, two of the three losses were five-setters with the men in blue leading almost the entire match until a meltdown at the end. If anything it shows a lack of maturity and end game experience to put foes away. Even defending champion UST, Ateneo’s volleyball rival, had to sweat out five sets before pulling in a win through the hat.
Last Season 71, the women’s team went through the same losing five matches in five sets. In the recent V-League, they won two of three five-setters. “At least, we showed na kaya,” said team assistant Michelle Laborte.
“We have a long way to go,” pronounced Palou. “But we’re getting there. Konti na lang.”
|
|
