ABY Maraño stood up for the women’s national volleyball team by sending a strong message to the fans during the opening ceremonies of the Philippine Superliga Invitationals on Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Given the opportunity to speak up as members of the national pool were acknowledged by the league, Maraño asked all the PSL players to sit down and take time to relax while waiting for their respective games.
The Philippine team captain spoke up for her fellow athletes and delivered a powerful message addressed to the Filipino volleyball fans.
“Lahat kayo na mga nanonood pati yung mga nanonood ng telebisyon, may impact kayo sa lahat ng mga manlalaro dito simula sa mga pinakabata hanggang sa mga beterano,” Maraño said. “Marami tayong nagagampanan kaya wag po nating ugaliin na dina-down ang mga atleta, mga kapwa Pilipino natin. Wag natin ugaliin na nagpapalaganap tayo ng poot.”
Despite a fruitful build-up in Thailand for the coming Southeast Asian Games that saw the team winning a bronze medal in the first leg of the ASEAN Grand Prix, the women’s national volleyball team received a lot of criticism from the fans especially head coach Shaq delos Santos and Ces Molina.
That’s why the eight-time league Best Middle blocker Maraño stood up and encouraged the fans to just keep on supporting the Filipina spikers, who are seeking to end a 14-year medal drought in the SEA Games instead of promoting hate.
“We only hope na huwag kayong magsawa sa pagsuporta at pagsubaybay sa amin,” said Maraño.
Regardless on how the fans respond to her message, the De La Salle standout assured the nationals won’t stop striving hard in serving the country.
“Hindi po kami titigil, hindi rin kami magsasawa na laruin itong sport na ‘to kasi alam naming mahal niyo rin ‘to bukod sa mahal namin ‘to,” the vocal spiker said. “At kahit pa katakot-takot na paninira, pangungutya ang matatanggap namin, hindi kami mapapagod para magsilbi para sa bayan.”
“Sa totoo lang nakakapagod talaga mag-ensayo ng dalawa hanggang tatlo sa isang araw, Masakit ang katawan pero lahat iniinda, iniisantabi kasi gusto namin may marating kami dahil gusto niyo may marating din kami so walang titigil,” she added.
The former UAAP MVP opened her speech by explaining how the fans affect the life of an athlete.
“Yung lahat ng talents and gifts na meron kami were given to us to share it with you, kasi sa tingin ko importante na nalalaman niyo yung relationship ng fans at mga atleta,” Maraño said.
“Habang ipinaparamdam niyo sa aming mga atleta yung impact namin sa buhay niyo, hindi niyo alam may malaki rin kayong impact na nagagawa sa amin. To be honest, there is no sense of delight when we only serve ourselves, meaning to say we share our talents to you guys.”
“We both benefit from it. Bakit? Kunwari sinabi niyo na nai-inspire kayo dahil sa pagiging matibay naming mga atleta, sa puso naming palaban, at sa mga kababaihan na katulad namin na ganito lumaban sa buhay,” she continued. “Hindi niyo alam nai-inspire niyo kami na pagbutihin yung paglalaro namin to be better in our crafts so salamat po.”
After speaking up for her fellow national team members and volleyball players, she hopes that her message will somehow open the eyes of the fans.
“We hope you find a light in your heart to appreciate our efforts and respect us enough," Marano said.
"Ayun lang naman din po e makaaasa naman kami doon so ngayon samahan niyo po kami sa lahat ng laro namin whether it's PSL or national team magkaisa po tayo,” Maraño concluded.
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