SOME of Philippine volleyball's biggest stars to this day - Alyssa Valdez, Kim Fajardo, Rhea Dimaculangan, Santiago sisters Jaja and Dindin and Laure sisters Eya and EJ - share one thing in common.
They began their respective volleyball careers at University of Sto. Tomas High School.
As the current crop of UST Tigresses continue a dream run in UAAP Season 86, from a historic 8-0 start to a fourth straight Final Four berth, head coach Kungfu Reyes brims with pride in seeing how such a young yet undersized group of up-and-coming talent has already reached great heights.
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"Ito ‘yung lagi naming ibinibida kung anong program meron kami sa UST. ‘Yung grassroots program, nag-dedevelop talaga kami ng mga players. Nagkakataon na nag-aabot na ‘yung mga piyesa namin. Kasi nung lumabas si Eya (Laure), pinaka-bata na sina Regina (Jurado) na eh, so itong mga ‘to, nag-aabot na," said Reyes.
"Si Detdet (Pepito) na ‘yung pinaka-senior which is third year. So sina Reg, sina Jonna (Perdido), nag-aabot-abot na ‘yung [mga galing sa] program namin sa high school. Ito ‘yung talagang program ni UST itself, ‘yun talaga ‘yung nagdadala. Same people kasi na ‘yung nasa high school, nandun sa college so talagang proseso.
"Mahabang proseso talaga ‘yung ginagawa. Ito, at least kahit papaano, nagbubunga ‘yung mga pinaghirapan namin, he added.
In his ninth year as Tigresses head coach, some things still surprise Reyes, including their 9-1 (win-loss) slate in the elimination round. But one thing about his team which he knew from the get-go is that their strong run of form is a vivid reflection of the Tigresses' hard work and progressing maturity.
"At first, ang hinihingi lang namin especially kina Angge (Poyos) at Em (Banagua), hindi naman namin sinasabi sa kanila, sa amin lang sa part ng coaches, kasi nung naglaro sila ng high school sa UAAP, hindi ganun ka-stunning at hindi ka ma-iimpress [pero] nakikita naman namin ‘yung potensyal ng mga bata. Ganun din ‘tong mga ‘to, sina Bianca (Plaza), sina Cassie (Carballo), coming from other schools, ‘yung maturity na lang ang tinitignan namin."
Reyes added: "Nagugulat lang kami kasi nandito na kami, 9-1 na kami. Nagugulat kami sa result pero ‘yung sa galaw nila, ‘yun na ‘yun eh. Ang gauge talaga namin, itong (mga huling laro nila). So lumalabas na talaga ‘yung pinaghihirapan nila."
Will UST finish the story?
A return to the Final Four is already guaranteed for UST with four prelims matches to spare. The twice-to-beat incentives, however, still hang in the balance ahead of an expected three-way logjam alongside defending champion La Salle and National University.
In a season that has gone above and beyond expectations, the story of España's own is far from finished as far as Reyes is concerned.
Hence, the grind continues.
"We’ll just keep grinding. Ganun lang naman. ‘Yun lang talaga ‘yung baseline namin. Kung paano kami mag-prepare, ‘yun talaga ang isa sa resulta ng mga hinahanap namin. Polish ulit kami ng mga skills namin, mag-reregroup, i-cocorrect ‘yung mga na-commit naming unforced errors. Mas i-ssharpen pa namin ‘yung skills namin. I think ‘yung ang number one na gagawin namin after tonight, siguro bukas balik ulit kami ng training," Reyes said.
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