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    Dzi Gervacio insists she can juggle FEU, beach volleyball duties

    New volleyball program head eager to continue FEU legacy
    Mar 20, 2021

    DZI Gervacio was part of Ateneo’s Fab Five that changed the landscape of the school's women’s volleyball program in the UAAP.

    Gervacio, Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Gretchen Ho, and A Nacachi led the Roger Gorayeb-coached Lady Eagles to four straight UAAP Final Four appearances from Seasons 72 to 75 — highlighted by back-to-back silver medals in 2012 and 2013 with a then-young Alyssa Valdez and Denden Lazaro.

    Eight years after her UAAP career, Gervacio is back with a different school, Far Eastern University, taking over as its volleyball program head.

    From being a member of the Fab Five that helped Ateneo reached greater heights, Gervacio is honored to continue to serve in different capacity, this time, for the winningest volleyball program in the UAAP with the Lady Tamaraws owning 29 championships, while the men’s having 25 titles.

    “It’s pretty cool, I have huge respects for both programs. kakachampion lang ng FEU when I entered the UAAP. Most championships until now,” said the 29-year-old, who made her UAAP debut in the 2008-09 season — a year after the Lady Tams’ championship reign led by Rachel Anne Daquis.

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      FEU has yet to win a title in women’s volleyball since that time, while the men’s team last emerged as champion in 2012. In beach volleyball, the Tamaraws have a total of five championships in both divisions with a decade of title drought.

      Now that she’s the FEU volleyball program head, Gervacio vows to help the school in keeping its great legacy in sports.

      “I’m planning to continue legacy,” Gervacio said.

      Gervacio was supposed to take up a Master’s degree in the United States, but it was cut short by the pandemic.

      Despite these trying times, the stars have finally aligned in the form of a job offer and it made the opposite spiker accept her new role in Morayta.

      “Sir Mark Molina reached out to discuss the possibility of me joining but I wasn’t in the country but when I got back home, I was the one who reached out,” Gervacio said.
      “Beach volley muna yung offer nung una. But, until September napagusapan na yung bigger role, but because of the pandemic, we don’t know what yet to expect, it was uncertain, the sports industry.”

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      “We continued talking since then. October or November last year we started talking na face to face. Until February this year, I officially started,” she added.

      Gervacio, who was part of Philippine beach volleyball teams' historic bronze finish in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, met the volleyball coaches and players last February via Zoom session.

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      As program head, she is going to help in the preparations of all FEU's volleyball teams for the UAAP and other leagues and help discover new talents for the school.

      “We already met through zoom meetings both juniors and senior teams, closely coordinating with the coaches, recruitment season for sure,” she said. “What to do with recruitment, they rely on videos sent by their affiliates from the province. Very open working together. Good thing about FEU, the connections.”

      Aside from being FEU’s new volleyball program head, Gervacio is also one of the co-founders of Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR), which seeks to return to action amid the pandemic. She is also a national team player and board member of Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF)’s beach volleyball commission.

      The Perlas Spiker decided to skip the upcoming pro debut of the Premier Volleyball League tentatively set in May to focus on beach volleyball.

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      The volleyball star-turned-official said she won’t have any problem juggling those tasks as she has great partners in every organization she’s involved.

      “I’m really lucky I have good partners,” she said. “Hindi lang naman ako yung nagtatrabaho for FEU for instance, I’m with the coaches. I’m just coordinating what they need. Finding the right mix of people to surround yourself with.”

      Time will come that UAAP will return to action and Gervacio will be on the sidelines of FEU volleyball teams and even face her alma mater, Ateneo.

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        Who will she be cheering for when that time comes?

        “I will cheer for everybody. I’m for the sport,” Gervacio said.

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