THE SAYING that anything can happen in baseball proved true in Season 78 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), as the collegiate diamond told a tale of both heartbreak and hope for the Blue and Lady Eagles.
Having sat on the throne for the past three seasons, the men fell short of a four-peat championship after falling in a best of three finals series thriller to surrender the crown to rivals De La Salle University. On the other hand, the women dramatically snapped a twenty-three game losing streak after outlasting second-ranked softball powerhouse University of Santo Tomas, showing signs of promise despite finishing at the bottom of the table.
But moving past the defeat, drama, and disappointment of the previous year, a new dawn brings a fresh opportunity to step up to the plate and take a swing at the pitch as the journey to restore former glory begins anew in Season 79. For any athlete and any team, the path to redemption is a tremendously difficult but familiar stroll with a seasoned navigator and a voice of guidance to provide a sense of direction and lead the way. To make that same walk without an experienced traveler at the head of the pack is definitely a road much less traveled, but it is a challenge that the batters will have to face as the season opens and the competition resumes.
Beating the odds
Despite coming into the tournament as top contenders for the gold, the Blue Eagles begin their run for the trophy with a significantly younger squad than in previous years, having lost several key players on the lineup just weeks before their opening game. With senior first baseman Ryon Tionloc sitting out his last year of UAAP eligibility, the veteran count gradually dwindled as outfielder Enzo Orbeta exited the final roster with a pulled hamstring. Injuries further thinned the team’s senior ranks as pitcher Nacho Cojuangco then voluntarily forfeited his spot on the team with an injured throwing arm, leaving captains Renzo Ramos and Miguel Dumlao to anchor the squad as two of just three remaining seniors.
“We lost two starters and those are big spots to fill,” shares Ramos. “We lost a lot of championship experience and composure during hard games and tight situations.”
On the softball field, the Lady Eagles face a similar daunting predicament, coming into another season as the cellar dwellers, armed with a likewise relatively young squad looking to topple giants. Labelled the underdogs seeking to prove their worth against bigger and older opponents, the bottom-seeded Lady Eagles face enormous odds in their campaign to yield greater success than they did in the previous year.
With age and experience then proving to be a more influential and decisive factor in game, the preseason hiccup of injuries and crucial departures was resolved not merely by patching up the gaping holes with top high school stalwarts, but also by the accelerated growth and maturation of every player on the team. The solution employed by the batters entailed not simply filling the empty ranks through recruitment, but also by working on a training program that targeted the athletic development of the entire squad, fortifying the armor by strengthening every link in the chain.
In addition to daily practices and tune-up games against fellow UAAP opponents, the Blue Eagles’ regime featured international exposure through tournaments abroad, giving several of the rookies a taste of the competition while sporting the Blue and White. The last month saw the team snag their second gold in two appearances at the Hong Kong International Baseball Open, with the team participating in a rigorous ten-day training camp at Clark, Pampanga just weeks later to sharpen their skills in preparation for the coming season.
“The last training camp was important because it gave us the work to see the full potential of our team,” admits Ramos. “We’ve been grinding it out the last month or so and we feel we’re more than ready.”
However, improvement as individual athletes was just one side of the coin. Looking to build off of their improvement from last season, captains Ira Nevalga and Shereen Salvatierra utilized a different strategy to increase their team’s chance for glory, deciding to focus largely on tweaking the chemistry both on and off the field as a means to finding their luck on the diamond. The two sprung up the idea to host a bonafide training camp to catalyze team camaraderie, a method alien to the squad in years past. The six-day camp involved the girls bunking together on campus, playing scrimmages against various colleges and eventual UAAP opponents, and attending regular training sessions at the cages.
“We’ve never had a training camp before and what we really wanted to do and achieve was to make the team closer,” says Salvatierra. “By living under the same roof, we get to bond and everyone is more comfortable with each other.”
Just a number
Thrust into the spotlight by the diminished group of upperclassmen, this season’s crop of rookies have a great deal on their hands and a greater weight on their shoulders, filling in old shoes that were left behind. With age and experience setting squads apart as determinant factors in the long run, the hurdle that must be crossed is the burden of going beyond their years to play like they are more experienced than they are. However, overcoming the age gap is a task that the rookie class has responded to with spirited enthusiasm, which could ultimately be the difference between winning and losing at the end of the day.
Seeking to outdo themselves on the diamond this season, the Lady Eagles’ arsenal has recruited decorated pitcher Kevyn Lacson, a product of PAREF Woodrose School whose theater of war included the annual Palarong Pambansa and a stint at the Little League World Series. Joining Lacson are high school teammates Alisha Vergara and Jill San Juan, two fresh faces who could bolster the Eagles’ chances at success this year in light of the departing seniors.
Former high school standout Miggy Angeles joins the pack in the men’s division to reinforce the Blue Eagles’ bullpen, with Dan Laurel continuing the legacy of his older brother as he makes his debut on the infield for the Blue and White.
Teamwork, discipline, and spirit could just be the catalysts in the winning formula, with the youngest batch of Blue and Lady Eagles rising to the occasion and accepting the challenge.
“I know the vets that left are really good, and they bring in rookies to replace them,” says Lacson. “My mindset now is to live up to their expectations.”
Angeles, pitcher and former UAAP Juniors Most Valuable Player, is similarly confident. “We had to mature early as rookies, and I think we’re doing our job,” admits Angeles. “The pressure is there, but it’s part of the game and part of the journey.”
