IN just her debut, Shaina Nitura lit up the UAAP seniors’ stage in record-breaking fashion.
Adamson’s rising star produced on Sunday the highest single-game scoring output by a women’s volleyball rookie: 33 points in a reverse-sweep of Ateneo in front of an awe-struck crowd inside the Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: Shaina Nitura, Adamson rookies star in reverse sweep of Ateneo
Again, this came just one game into her seniors’ career following a dominant reign in the girls’ division where she swept the top spiker, MVP, and finals MVP plums topped by the school’s first-ever championship.
It’s as if her volleyball career has been too bright for her already, she had to wear goggles for her to bear the scintillating run of form she’s been riding on.
Playing goggles may not be a new sight in basketball, with the likes of Marlou Aquino and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar rocking eyewear on the hardcourt, but it may just be a first in volleyball.
33/33 vision today for Shaina
From wearing flashy goggles to contact lenses, and back to goggles again, there’s a pretty interesting story on why Nitura has opted to use eyewear during matches.
“Nu’ng dati, Grade 8 ako nag-goggles. Tumigil ako nu’ng Grade 9 kasi nawala siya. Pinagalitan pa ako ng coach ko nu’n,” Nitura shared with SPIN.ph.
“Then nag-contact lens na'ko simula Grades 9, 10, 11, 12. Actually last year din, so five (years). Five years na'ko (naka-contacts), so parang sobrang na-irritate na siya.”
Are the added fixtures on her already-troubled line of sight an unwanted distraction to her vision and game?
No, it’s not.
“Bumalik ako dito (sa goggles) kasi mas safe and komportable naman siya,” she said.
Indeed, the 20 year old was very much comfortable on the seniors' stage, as she led her Lady Falcons from down two sets all the way to an impressive triumph over the veteran Lady Eagles.
Nitura has no specifics on what brand to wear or anything to that extent, but she did share where she copped her soon-to-be signature current pair.
As she put it, “Bumili lang po ako ng maganda po sa pangingin ko. Sa Magno [Optical] po ako bumibili.”
Goggles or no goggles, contacts or no contacts, glasses or no glasses, it's easy to see Adamson has a superstar in the making in its record-setting rookie skipper.
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