ERIKA Santos didn’t have the luxury of seeing the court for as much as she would’ve liked back in her college days with La Salle.
It was the same case when she turned pro with PLDT three years ago where she’d find herself in the shadows of prolific wingers like Savi Davison.
Those days are over now.
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Santos, 25, knew that there were people questioning her limited minutes with the High Speed Hitters and even with the Lady Spikers back in the UAAP.
Even if things haven’t gone her way for the most part of her career, she knows well enough that every chance she gets to play brings her a step closer to a long-overdue breakout moment.
“Hindi naman po [ako nanghihinayang] kasi every time na makakapaglaro ka, opportunity pa rin eh,” Santos told SPIN.ph.
“Alam naman ng mga coaches, yung mga nasa labas, management, kung ano yung mas better sa court kaya kung sino yung nasa loob, cheer lang and absorb lang kami from the outside.”
Years of being a bench-warmer built her up towards becoming Cignal’s unlikely go-to scoring weapon.
From her ‘unexpected’ entry to the PVL’s 30-point club and leading the team in scoring and spiking, Santos sees it as a matter of her lifelong risks and extended waiting game finally paying off.
“Honestly, after DLSU, nag-take na ako ng risk eh. Wala akong alam kung ano ba [future ko] outside the college, ano ba yung pros,” Santos admitted.
“Naging thankful lang ako and na-surprise lang din ako na tinrabaho ako ng mga coaches na napagdaanan ko, and yung coaches ko ngayon.
“Tyinaga rin nila ako sa kung anuman ako ngayon.”
It might just be the preseason, but Santos is dead-set on making her ‘On Tour’ explosion a regular occurrence the rest of the way.
“Patibayan na lang kung sino mas gusto, kasi lahat naman eh, yung mga teams na nandyan, lalaban yan since ito na yung totoong bakbakan,” Santos said.
“Kung sino na lang mas may gusto, yun ang aangat.”
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