UE Lady Warriors’ Khy Cepada during the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball press conference. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Losing their core players has been tough for the UE Lady Warriors, to say the least.
But as the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament opens on Sunday, Khy Cepada and the University of the East Lady Warriors chose to focus on what’s in front of them instead of the exodus of their key players.
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“It was tough because I thought that was already our final lineup, that we would all stay together,” Cepada told reporters. “But we turned it into a positive because coach Obet [Vital] didn’t leave us with nothing. We still have the pieces to compete and show what we’re capable of.”
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 87 volleyball tournament first round
“It’s sad and heartbreaking that it happened, but we can’t just dwell on it,” she added. “I still have my teammates and family to support me.”
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UE lost the players who showed tremendous promise Season 86, including top scorer Casiey Dongallo and setter Kizzie Madriaga. Meanwhile, the core of California Academy with Jelai Gajero and coach Dr. Obet Vital transferred to the University of the Philippines.
Cepada remained confident with their holdovers Riza Nogales, Angelica Reyes, KC Balingat, Van Bangayan, and Tin Ecalla under interim coach Allan Mendoza, one of the former assistant coaches of Vital.
FILE–Former UE Lady Warriors star Casiey Dongallo. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“I still have my teammates, I still have my support system. Not everything that happens is negative,” she said. “We always focus on the positives and use them as motivation instead of letting them become a distraction.”
Interestingly, UE battles UP, which is now the school of its former players, on Saturday’s opener at Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: UAAP Season 87 volleyball: storylines and games to watch out for
Cepada and her team are putting the exodus in the past as they embark on a new journey.
“There are no hard feelings because we know the real reason behind it,” she said. “It’s just exciting that we get to face UP—and in our very first game too.”
Mendoza also stressed that they need to make the most of the opportunity to step up and apply all of what they learned from Vital.
“It’s something to be proud of because I used to be on his sidelines, and now we’re coaching against each other,” said the new UE coach. “He said he’s happy, and I’m happy too that he’ll be my first opponent in my UAAP debut.”
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“Coach Obet trained me to be a positive coach. I’ve helped the players believe that anything is possible. In every situation, there’s always a solution to any problem. Instead of dwelling on setbacks, we focused on finding solutions.”
