JADE Fuentes never felt her Philippine volleyball story had the chance to be completed.
Four years after leaving La Salle and returning to the United States, the 6-foot-1 Fil-American wing spiker is back in the country with one goal in mind: finally making the leap to the professional ranks through the 2026 PVL Rookie Draft.
READ: Don't expect 'quirky' Pepito to change once she makes it to PVL
Fuentes last played locally under Ramil de Jesus' wing with the Lady Spikers from 2020 to 2022, but unlike most collegiate stars, her stay in the UAAP came almost entirely inside COVID-19 bubbles.
The restrictions left her feeling that there was still more to experience, both as a student-athlete and as a volleyball player in the Philippines.
“I always knew that I wanted to come back to the Philippines after playing at DLSU for UAAP Season 84. Once I was there, since it was COVID and it was just a bubble and you could only go from the dorm to the gym, I wasn't really getting the full UAAP experience and also college experience," Fuentes recalled.
After leaving La Salle, Fuentes returned to California, spending time with her family while continuing her volleyball career at Rio Hondo College before moving on to NCAA Division II school Cal State University Dominguez Hills.
Even then, the Philippines still remained part of the plan.
“I knew that I wanted to go back home and spend time with my family, but then always come back to the Philippines. That's always been a part of my plan is that to hopefully enter the PVL and play for a year," she said.
Now back in Manila, Fuentes enters the draft as one of the most intriguing prospects in the class.
At 6-foot-1 and this year's lone Fil-foreign aspirant, she brings not only size and versatility on the wing but also years of experience competing against bigger and more physical opposition in the United States.
“The fact that I've had experience playing in the U.S. Where the average height is probably around 6'2. And so I'm playing against blockers that are 6'4, 6'2, and so on," she bared to be her advantage in this year's draft class.
“I have experience playing against very big blocks and also big girls, as in like they're tall, so I definitely have good vision of blocks and how to score against those players.”
A second homecoming
But beyond the scouting reports, athletic measurements, and draft projections, Fuentes said the motivation driving her remains the same one she had years ago in Taft and later in California.
“My motivation has always stayed the same, whether I was at DLSU or in California playing. It's always just been to grow as much as I can and learn as much as I can because I genuinely love volleyball so much, whether I'm playing in the Philippines or I'm playing in the U.S., or anywhere else, I still have the same amount of love for it," she said.
For Fuentes, the 2026 PVL Draft is not simply about turning professional as it is more about returning to a dream she never abandoned and finally getting the Philippine volleyball experience she felt was left unfinished.
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.
