THERE will be plenty of changes for Shaq delos Santos in the next few months of his head-coaching career.
For starters, the champion coach welcomed seven new players for Cignal in the midst of its ongoing rebuild following the departures of Ces Molina, Riri Meneses and Jov Fernandez.
READ: Cignal strikes first in PVL on Tour with emphatic sweep of Akari
Among the newest HD Spikers are 2025 PVL Rookie Draft picks Erin Pangilinan and Jessa Ordiales, free agent Pearl Denura and Tin Tiamzon, and transferees Erika Santos from PLDT, Heather Guino-o from Capital1, and Ethan Arce from Petro Gazz.
“Sobrang happy kasi sila talaga ‘yung ina-eye namin na players. Luckily, napunta sila sa’min. I’m sure iniisip ng mga tao na maraming middles sa kanila pero kaya nilang maglaro sa ibang positions para ma-maximize namin sila,” delos Santos said.
“Mas excited kaming magturo this time kasi ‘yung mga ina-eye namin na players, nakuha namin sa Cignal. Hopefully, marami kaming ma-share sa kanila lalo na sa system na meron kami sa Cignal.”
Change is coming
But there’s a much bigger change incoming for delos Santos, which will add a new layer of challenge to his mission of leading Cignal to an elusive PVL crown.
Roughly three weeks before the PVL on Tour went underway, delos Santos was re-appointed as head coach of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses for UAAP Season 88.
It was a switch-up that caught many by surprise, marking the shock conclusion of his predecessor Kungfu Reyes’ decade-long tenure at the helm in España.
Even Coach Shaq himself took quite some time to fully grasp the bigger responsibilities he’ll have to carry for two title-hungry teams in the PVL and the UAAP at the same time.
“Ang daming pumapasok sa isip ko. Una na yung paano ba mangyayari ‘to? Ano ba ‘yung unang step na pwede kong gawin [pagbalik sa UST]?
“Now, ‘yung opportunity na maging head coach ulit, mas excited ako sa bagong role ko ulit kaya pipilitin kong maging better para sa team,” delos Santos said.
Eager to grow, committed to win
While the thrill of the pro league is enticing in itself, Coach Shaq just couldn’t turn down the chance to return to his old stomping grounds in which his last tour of coaching duty resulted in a UAAP title back in 2010.
“Na-miss ko ‘yung mag-coach sa collegiate. ‘Yung UAAP din kasi ngayon, grabe na ‘yung transition from before hanggang ngayon, ‘yung flow,” delos Santos.
“Gusto ko ulit makabalik at ma-experience na ‘yung ganitong level na kung nasaan na ‘yung UAAP.”
Moving forward, delos Santos will ask for just one thing from UST that he has brought to the table with Cignal in his five-year term thus far — the unwavering commitment to perform and deliver.
“Hihingin ko ‘yung commitment nila kasi ‘yun ‘yung magiging key, na hindi naman madalian, pero para pwede naming mapabilis [‘yung progress ng team],” delos Santos said.
“Hopefully, mag-materialize siya especially pagdating ng UAAP at maging okay lahat.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
