SAM Cantada is no stranger to criticism following her departure from Adamson shortly after their UAAP Season 87 girls’ volleyball finals loss to NU-Nazareth School.
Of course, she ultimately wound up committing to the Lady Bulldogs, with whom she's now starring as a rookie in the collegiate ranks.
The San Marcelino faithful couldn't help but be disappointed, as its promising core supposedly led by Shaina Nitura, Fhei Sagaysay, and Cantada wasn't meant to be.
For her part, though, Cantada said she has long moved on - and so have her former teammates.
“First of all, I’m happy that I’m here,” she said following a second straight strong showing in her collegiate rookie campaign.
"Tapos na naman po lahat nang yun. Ok na rin po sila dun at ok na rin po ako dito."
READ: Cantada keeps impressing for NU in clean takedown of Adamson
Still, the Lady Bulldogs' prized prospect admitted she remains aware of online noise, though she is, slowly but surely, learning to tune it all out.
“Kahit naman po makakita ako nang mga ganung comments, basta alam ko po sa sarili ko, ok na po. Hindi ko naman na po sila pinapansin,” she told SPIN.ph.
Rather than dwell on the backlash, Cantada chooses to hold on to the memories of the Lady Baby Falcons' historic Season 86 girls’ volleyball championship, a campaign she described as deeply meaningful and formative to where her career has now taken her.
“Lagi po ‘yun nandito sa puso ko, lalo na’t iba po talaga ‘yung season na ‘yun,” she said.
“Puro faith po talaga siya kay Lord. Iba po talaga ‘yung kapit namin sa Kanya that season. Hindi po namin makukuha ‘yung championship na ‘yun kundi po dahil sa Kanya po talaga.”
Cantada added that she'll always have a soft spot for San Marcelino, emphasizing that her departure did not erase the bonds they shared.
“Mga ka-teammate ko pa rin po sila dati at siyempre po, si coach [JP] Yude po talaga, nami-miss ko rin naman po talaga sila,” she said
Run your own race
For her part, NU head coach Regine Diego, who has long been accustomed to handling young players navigating pressure and towering expectations, reminding Cantada and all her wards to just control what they can control.
“I always tell them that some things we cannot control. We just have to accept and just move forward,” she said.
“We just have to have laser focus in the game kasi we cannot stop them. We can’t just go to the crowd and tell them to stop. We can’t stop them.”
At the same time, the Lady Bulldogs mentor also appealed to the ever-growing volleyball community to show compassion toward student-athletes and keep emotions in check.
“Sana hindi naman tayo ganyan, dapat sports lang, ‘di ba? I wish fans are better sa ganyan kasi these are student-athletes,” she said.
“I think it’s nice to be gentle to everyone. But then again, ayun nga, we cannot control those. So what we can do is just focus on our team and to those that are important.”
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