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The Ateneo’s women’s volleyball coach Oliver Almadro revealed that his players went through all five stages of the match when UAAP season 82 was eliminated last March.
Now that even season 83 has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Almadro, who is a keen game tactic as he is as a team motivator, said he fears they will go through the same cycle again.
“All stages; First we deny it, ”said the mentor of the season 81 champions. Season 82 had only four days to play when the imposed blocks led to the end of UAAP competitions.
“Until we reached acceptance and learned to move on,” he added.
Training and meeting regularly online since the quarantine began, Almadro said they are already adjusting well to the unique situation.
“We already have a new schedule for training and for a possible return,” Almadro said. “We think that by January we could train on the court and by March we could compete in a bubble competition.”
That was until he heard the news from his top gunner, Juls Samonte: The league is scrapping the season that was initially planned to feature just basketball and volleyball.
“It took us by surprise and overall, we felt bad,” he said.
Especially since a number of key players, or what he called “super senior,” are unsure of coming back for the 84th season.
Samonte, Ponggay Gaston, Deanna Wong, and Kat Tolentino are in their fourth or fifth year of college and may choose to play in club leagues or pursue other interests.
“These students have their own dreams; my only prayer is that they make a discernment, ”Almadro said. “Whatever decision they make, we will respect it.”
He said it will be a challenge for him as a coach to put together a formidable team once the arenas open again for the sport.
“We don’t have Team B and these developments affected our recruitment program,” Almadro said. “It is up to me to reorganize myself, to restore the future of the team.”
Meanwhile, the NCAA and the National Athletic Association of School Colleges and Universities (Naascu) continue their respective seasons.
The NCAA management committee confirmed an Inquirer report citing reliable sources that it will power the league’s 96 season, beginning with online sports in the first quarter of 2021.
“If and when we receive a signal to go from the IATF (interagency working group), then we will resume the real games in a bubble configuration,” said Arellano University Vice President Peter Cayco.
A senior source told the Inquirer that the NCAA has been in a series of meetings and webinars with the goal of opening competitions within a bubble in June of next year.
The country’s first college league will feature track, swimming, basketball and volleyball for its comeback season, which will be presented by Letran.
For its 20th season, Naascu will host online events starting in February, six months before its regular season begins.
League President Dr. Ernesto Jay Adalem of St. Clare and Vice President Rodilo Legaspi of New Era University said they will host online events for karate (kata), taekwondo (poomsae) and electronic games.
Adalem said they are planning to host some “time trial” track and field events.
“Sometimes we need to be more creative,” Adalem said.
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