NAKHON Ratchasima team manager-slash-deputy coach Jang Bualee, one of Philippine volleyball’s pioneering imports, will see a familiar face in the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League quarterfinals.
READ: Jang Bualee reunites with Roger Gorayeb in return to the country
The former Shakey’s V-League MVP over a decade ago once played for Ateneo in the said competition, where she also racked up top scorer and best opposite hitter plums.
She also played side-by-side with the captain of her forthcoming playoff opposition in Alyssa Valdez and the rest of Creamline.
And so, Jang won’t just treat Valdez & Co. as another assignment.
The way she puts it, the ‘Phenom’ will be her and the nine-time Thai champions’ ‘homework.’
“I think Alyssa, she is stronger and she is very smart. I know her since she was young and until now, she’s still playing,” Jang said.
“I changed my position, I’m a coach now. Maybe I can help my team a little bit on how Alyssa plays. We have to practice and it’s our homework to know how Alyssa plays.”
Two icons cross paths
The man who orchestrated their link-up for the blue-and-white was no other than former Lady Eagles head coach Roger Gorayeb, who was in attendance for Jang and Nakhon Ratchasima’s tournament debut on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
Gorayeb walked down memory lane to explain how two of the sport’s most influential figures crossed paths in Ateneo even after bringing Jang in as an import for another collegiate team of his in Sandugo-San Sebastian.
“There was a time na pinalaro ko siya sa Ateneo. There was a time nung collegiate kasi hindi yata kami sumali na San Sebastian. Nu’ng time na yun, sobrang pagmamahal niya sa’min kasi ang tagal niyang naglaro sa’min tapos mapupunta siya sa ibang school,” said Gorayeb.
“Sabi ko, ‘Ok lang ‘yan, maglaro-laro ka lang sa ibang school.’ Pero umiiyak siya kasi sobra siyang attached sa’min nu’ng time na ‘yun kasi du’n din siya nakatira sa San Sebastian. Yung mga gusto niya, binibigay namin. Napakabait niyan, hindi mahirap pakisamahan.”
Only one of Gorayeb’s former aces will break into the Final Four of Asia’s biggest club competition once Creamline and Nakhon Ratchasima — two of the continent’s most decorated teams — lock horns in the knockout quarterfinals on Apr. 24 (Thursday), 7 p.m.
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