ABY Marano, an intimidating force on the volleyball court, has been tamed on the sidelines by a camera and a mic early in her debut on Friday as television analyst for the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament.
The former La Salle skipper admitted nerves took over minutes before she went live on air with Andrei Felix for the semis match between College of St. Benilde and University of Perpetual Help aired on ABS-CBN Sports+Action.
“Kinabahan ako ng pre-game, nakalimutan ko ang pangalan ng team captain ng Perpetual Help buti nasalo ako (ni Andrei), sobrang na-blangko ako di ko nasabi ‘yung name,” she said.
The 23-year old athlete turned entrepreneur also relied on instincts in predicting that the game would go down to the wire as early as the first set, which only made her more anxious.
“Kaloka, alam mo ba kanina ko pa sinasabihan si Andrei na kumapit ka kasi mahaba ito,” she said. “Pero kanina sabi ko (sa sarili ko), ‘Shocks, sana matapos agad ng three sets kasi nakakakaba.'”
Marano, though, eventually found her groove as she let loose.
“(Pero) I had fun, sobra,” she said. “Minsan iniiwan-iwan na niya (Andrei) ako, nakaganoon (taas) na lang ang mic niya so ako tuluy-tuloy na nagsasalita na lang, eventually na-overcome ko naman ang kaba ko.”
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Marano was thankful for her experience as an athlete both as a player and as someone who was frequently asked by the media covering her games for her relatively smooth transition to her new job.
“Syempre malaking tulong (na atleta ako) kasi nag-interview kami kanina, alam ko na ano itatanong ko kasi alam ko ‘yung mga tinatanong sa akin,” she said.
“Tapos sa pag-analyze ng game, it’s really important na may alam ka kasi may in-depth understanding ka ng sport,” she added. “Kaya kanina, bigay lang ako nang bigay ng points, bakit maganda ‘yung palo kasi maganda ‘yung angle at maganda ‘yung contact, medyo technical ako para ma-educate ‘yung mga manonood.”
Tyang Aby, as her friends and fans fondly call her, will be back on the broadcasting panel on Friday.