SHAQ delos Santos is juggling two high-stakes races, and he is not backing down.
With Cignal bound for the PVL Finals and University of Santo Tomas still fighting for a Final Four spot in UAAP Season 88, the veteran mentor finds himself navigating one of the busiest stretches of his coaching career, and it has not gone unnoticed.
READ: Cignal's finals return a grand byproduct of team's selfless ways
Criticisms swung delos Santos' way after missing UST’s sweep loss to Adamson at the Playtime Filoil Centre, as he was simultaneously calling the shots in Cignal’s semis-opening win over Farm Fresh at the Mall of Asia Arena.
But for him, there is no conflict, only commitment.
“Hindi siya totally parang cino-consider ko na critical. Siguro, mas kung gaano ko lang talaga ka-mahal ‘yung volleyball, sa totoo lang. Never ako nagpapabaya du’n sa mga trabaho ko,” he said.
“‘Yung agreement namin ng mga bosses namin, alam naman nila lahat ‘yan. Kaya ako, never ako nagda-doubt sa mga ginagawa ko.”
Full Shaq attack
With both campaigns reaching their decisive phases, the scheduling challenge is real but manageable.
UST wraps up its elimination round with games against UP on Sunday and defending champion NU on Wednesday, while Cignal opens its best-of-three finals series against Creamline on Tuesday and Thursday.
The overlap is tight and leaves him little room to breathe, but not direct. Good thing for delos Santos, he is not doing it alone.
Armed with a trusted coaching staff, including deputies like Yani Fernandez who handled UST duties in his absence, the seasoned tactician remains confident both squads are in good hands.
“Ang laki ng tiwala ko dun sa both teams, both Cignal and UST, and then siyempre, ‘yung coaching staff ko and ‘yung respect na binibigay namin sa bawat isa,” he said.
“I think ‘yung word na ‘critical,’ hindi siya ‘yung word para sa’min. Mas ine-embrace lang namin kung ano ‘yung trabaho namin, ‘yung goal namin, kung paano kami maka-help sa team at ma-feel nila na masarap maglaro ng volleyball kahit anong status namin.”
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