BEFORE blazing a historic rookie trail in the UAAP, Shaina Nitura’s early beginnings in volleyball played out miles away from Adamson.
It was somewhere exactly 30 kilometers away from San Marcelino where the 20-year-old found one of her first stomping grounds as a high school student along with her sister Judiel, who currently plays for the Letran Lady Knights in NCAA women's volleyball.
READ: Belen, Nitura say stronger HS programs nurture 'super rookies'
The school? It's the California Academy (CAL) in Antipolo, Rizal, which bore witness to the meteoric ascents of future UAAP aces Casiey Dongallo, Jelai Gajero and Kizzie Madriaga, among others.
SPIN.ph reached out to concurrent CAL chief and University of the Philippines deputy coach Obet Vital on how the newly-crowned UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball Rookie of the Year was once under his tutelage.
“Shaina [Nitura] was recruited by us from CALABARZON [during a] regional competition leading to Palarong Pambansa,” Vital said.
“This was the highest level she played that year as a Grade 6 [student]. She is from Cainta and represented Rizal Province.”
It was a recruitment decision Vital made that didn’t depend as much on physique and stature.
In fact, he even shared an old photo of his ‘CAL babies’ back when Nitura was still among his young proteges.
“As you can see, she wasn't the tallest then and [Casiey] Dongallo was second to the shortest then,” he said.
From Rizal to San Marcelino
Then came the switch which Vital, Nitura herself and Adamson head coach JP Yude opted not to delve further into specifics on.
For the Adamson rookie-slash-captain, the rationale behind her career-altering move to San Marcelino is one sh’ed rather keep to herself.
“‘Yung first [elementary] school ko ay sa Faith [Academy in Cainta, Rizal]. Technically, du’n ako nag-start. Then from high school, nag-CAL ako, then Adamson nu’ng Grade 10, and I’m here now [with the Lady Falcons],” Nitura said.
“Very complicated siya [paglipat ko from CAL to Adamson]. Mas okay siguro na I’ll just keep it to myself. It’s not a thing to share with everyone talaga.
“Alam naman natin na maingay ang volleyball [community] so I’ll just keep it na lang.”
With a gifted player and a natural-born leader like Nitura, Yude knew straight away how bright of a gem she’ll be for the Adamson program.
“Nu’ng time na pumalit ako (sa Adamson juniors), nandyan na yan si Shaina, pero hindi pa siya nagsa-start na maglaro sa Adamson. Ako yung unang nakahawak diyan sa kanya sa Adamson kasi nung past, nasa CAL ‘yan eh,” Yude said.
“Yung mindset niya nu’n at yung attitude niya nu’n, kumbaga hinone ko na lang siya at hinasa nang hinasa, pero I always knew na marami pang mararating yung bata.
“‘Yung pagli-lead niya talaga, ‘yun talaga ‘yung nakita ko sa kanya all throughout sa ilang years na kaming magkasama.”
‘Alas’ Shaina next?
After breaking almost every record there is in UAAP volleyball in just her rookie year, it was quite a no-brainer to give Nitura her first Alas Pilipinas call-up.
It made her the first college rookie to receive a national team invite straight away along with Far Eastern University’s Clarisse Loresco.
While a roster spot isn’t a given yet, Nitura has been loving life so far in her first few training sessions with Alas.
Nitura carries the hope of sharpening her craft to a level that will make her worthy of being part of the national team at such an early age — one that would be a fitting follow-up to her smashing UAAP debut season.
“Maayos naman yung kalagayan ko du’n [sa Alas]. Wala pa akong plans actually kasi depende pa if mala-lineup or not,” Nitura said.
“Ang trina-trabaho ko talaga is mag-improve para maging qualified sa line-up.”
One Alas veteran particularly interested to see Nitura don the national colors for the first time? No other than team captain Jia de Guzman.
"I'm really excited kasi I've seen how she plays for Adamson. She's also the captain for her team so I'm really curious how she will play in the system of Alas also," de Guzman said.
"And grabe, she's very strong physically and high din 'yung IQ niya sa paglalaro. I'm sure na magaganda rin 'yung conversations namin 'pag magkasama na rin kami."
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.
