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Running it back

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Published September 15, 2020 at 2:43 pm
Photos by Paolo Yaptinchay, Jason Mariano, and Reyneal Vargas

AN ATHLETE’S life is more than just medals and trophies. Behind glorious moments are many hurdles that athletes need to overcome. Jose Poe’s leave of absence, Raffy Verano’s academic probation, and LJ Miranda’s knee injury caused them to miss Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). However, these challenges only served as motivation for them to come back stronger this season.

Jose Poe

Unlike most athletes, Jose Poe took a year off from the Ateneo Men’s Football Team (AMFT) to explore new opportunities beyond sports. Having devoted his life to football in his freshman and sophomore years, Poe spent most of his first two years in college either on the field or in the gym. As such, his rigorous training schedule made it difficult for him to allot ample time for his academics and extracurricular activities.

Knowing full well that his football career will not last forever, Poe wanted to involve himself more with the student organizations of Ateneo. Knowing that the AMFT deserved nothing less than his 100%, Poe officially filed for a leave of absence from the team in June 2019. “Knowing that there’s a possibility of me not giving my all, I would rather give my position to someone else,” Poe admitted.

Soon after, new doors opened up for Poe. In the same month, he was appointed as the AIESEC in AdMU’s Vice President for Application Management. His task was to communicate the application process for aspiring members and ensure that it runs smoothly. Apart from that, Poe also organized AIESEC in AdMU’s Tambay Week and was appointed as the organization’s Director for Human Resources in January.

As his leave of absence expired this year, Poe is ready to come back stronger for UAAP Season 83. Poe’s time away from the field gave him newfound motivation to balance his athletic career and extracurricular activities. “I realized that I could have juggled football with all those things if I wanted to,” Poe said. “Because I know that if I want to do something, I’ll do what it takes, it's just a matter of setting the routines and normalizing these routines to make it happen.” 

With two years of UAAP experience under his belt, Poe shared that his goal for the upcoming season is to assume a more veteran role in the team. “Given that I’m a senior, I feel like I have a role to impart the things that I know onto the younger players,” he said. Now more mentally resilient and inspired, Poe gears up for his return to the upcoming UAAP Season 83.

Raffy Verano

Unlike Poe, Raffy Verano’s hiatus was not his decision to make. An essential cog in the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team’s (AMBT) back-to-back championship squads, Verano  was ineligible to play in Season 82 because he did not meet Ateneo’s minimum grade requirement.

To lift his probationary status, Verano had to obtain a cumulative quality point index of 2.0 or higher and was barred from participating in the AMBT’s training and team-building sessions. “I was devastated,” he shared. “I kind of hibernated, cocooned myself for maybe two to three weeks.”

However, instead of dwelling over this setback in his basketball career, Verano saw this hurdle as an opportunity to improve himself both as a student and as an athlete. “My mindset now [is that] I’m trying to get recruited again by Ateneo,” he said. “I look at it as a way like I was never part of the team, and I need to work my way back.”

With his imminent return to the hardcourt this season, Verano is staying in shape by carefully eating a balanced diet and regularly performing the workouts prepared by the AMBT coaching staff. On top of his physical conditioning, Verano is taking good care of his mental health by keeping in touch with his teammates amid the quarantine though the AMBT’s Telegram group chat.

Although Verano could not join his teammates for the championship last season, he learned just how important it is to balance being both a student and an athlete. With his priorities now straightened out, he is looking forward to helping the team continue its championship run in the upcoming season.

LJ Miranda

Similar to the AMBT, the Ateneo Women’s Basketball Team (AWBT) also lost a key player in UAAP Season 82, as forward LJ Miranda was sidelined due to a nagging knee injury. Miranda’s injury started back in 2018 when she began experiencing some pain on her shin. However, she never gave it time to fully heal as she deemed the pain bearable. 

As she played through the discomfort in her shin, the pain eventually radiated to her knee in March 2019 after the UAAP Women’s 3x3 Basketball Tournament concluded. With the discomfort in her shin and knee becoming worse, she consulted the physical therapists and doctors at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center, who initially diagnosed it as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) or “runner’s knee.”

Despite the doctor’s recommendation to begin rehabilitation, Miranda continued to train through the pain. She realized her mistake soon after as the pain reached a point where she could no longer sleep at night. “Nag-seek na talaga ako ng consultations sa doctors by July since hindi na talaga ako makatulog at night, especially kapag malamig. (I sought consultations with doctors by July since I could not sleep at night [due to the pain], especially if it was cold),” Miranda said. 

Although Miranda did not want to stop playing, her coaches thought it best for her to take a break and to allow her knee to heal. After serving a two-month break from strenuous physical activities, Miranda was determined to make a speedy recovery by religiously attending her physical therapy sessions.

In December 2019, Miranda’s diligence in therapy came into fruition when she was finally given the clearance to return to practice. From the experience, she learned the importance of admitting to herself that she needed time to rest in order to come back stronger for the new season. “Huwag silang maging in denial about it. It’s sad pero kapag hindi mo siya ma-accept fully hindi ka rin makakamove on (They [athletes] should not be in denial about it. It’s sad but if you don’t fully accept it, you will not be able to move on),” she said.

For better or for worse

Despite these challenges temporarily halting their athletic careers, these athletes have managed to emerge more resolute towards achieving their goals. All of their takeaways—whether a changed perspective, heeding a wake up call, or learning when to ask for help—have given them the jumpstart they need to face UAAP Season 83 head on.


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