“Nararamdaman mo ba ang nararamdaman ko, Bunsoy?” I whispered to Caca, our rookie middle blocker.
“Moms, Feeling ko ngayon ang liit-liit ko,” Caca said, looking a bit stunned. We watched the Lady Bulldogs march inside the court to warm up as we stood beside the net.
Pia appeared out of nowhere and frowned. “Imagine niyo na lang kung ano feeling ko.”
“Hoy! Kayong tatlo, tama na 'yan,” Kathy interrupted giving us a slight push from behind. “Keep your heads in the game. Pia, lumayo-layo ka sa net, baka maapakan ka ni Jaja.”
The UP Lady Fighting Maroons opened Season 77 with two consecutive wins -- against UST and UE. It was quite a feat for constant bottom dwellers in the standings. But having to face a bigger and taller NU squad would be a real test.
The Lady Bulldogs comfortably held on to the number two spot last season until they were beaten twice by the Ateneo Lady Eagles that took them out of the contention for the championship. Maybe they lost a couple key players from last year but that doesn't make them any less lethal. Aiko Urdas was suited up to play for the first time after she went down with a knee injury during the V-League first conference. The Lady Bulldogs with their game face on were looking for another prey.
Coach Jerry signaled us to go back to the bench for a huddle. As we walked towards the sideline, Caca pointed to Thirdy who was seated a few rows behind our bench. He was wearing a maroon shirt with ‘UP College of Law’ boldly printed in front. He vigorously waved at us with a big smile across his face.
“Pia, kinakawayan ka ng number one fan mo,” Yen teased Pia who glared back.
“Mamay na ‘yang tuksuhan. Magconcentrate muna sa laro,” Nicole reminded everyone.
Tita Marivic and Nanay Nene were a few seats away from Thirdy. Loren must have gone to the dug out of the Tigresses who just took out the Adamson Lady Falcons in four sets earlier in the first game.
“Masmalaking tao sila pero hindi nangangahulugan na masmagaling sila sa inyo,” Coach Jerry told everyone in the huddle. “Ang lamang nila sa inyo, sanay silang manalo… at hinahanap nila ‘yun. Nanalo tayo ng dalawang sunod. Baka kontento na kayo doon.”
“Hindi po!” everyone shouted.
“Alam niyo ano ang pakiramdam ng parating natatalo. Gusto niyo pa din ba ‘yun?” Coach Jerry asked.
“Hindi po!” everyone shouted.
“Masarap ang nanalo. Pero higit sa panalo ano ang gusto niyo?” Coach Jerry asked again.
“Respeto!” everyone was getting psyched up and showed their game faces.
“Pakita niyo na hindi chamba ‘yung unang dalawang panalo niyo. Pakita niyo sa kanila na karapat-dapat kayong respetuhin sa ligang ito,” Coach Jerry challenged everyone.
“UP fight!” everyone shouted… and the people in the stands cheered.
We were a bit surprised to find that a lot of people were rooting for us. Though earlier we saw a small section of UP fans in maroon shirts up in the gallery… and quite a number of little kids who were engaging us in conversation while waited for the first game to finish. I guess people always loved the underdogs.
Coach Jerry tapped me on the shoulder, “Kaya mo na ba?”
“Excited na nga po,” I replied as I swung and stretched both my arms. My heavily taped shoulder felt a little stiff but there wasn’t any pain.
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FanfictionBetween being an athlete and law student, there is hardly time for anything else. You train... you go to class... you practice with the team... in between, you either study or you cram. If you get lucky, maybe you'll find time to have a life as we...
