FOR A towering center who can score in multiple ways with 9.9 points per game (PPG), control the boards with 8 rebounds per game (RPG) (8th in the UAAP Women’s Basketball Tournament), protect the rim with 0.9 blocks per game (BPG), and shoot the three-pointer proficiently at 38% for the season where she led the UAAP, it is surprising that Tina Deacon only started playing basketball on her senior year in high school. Originally a volleyball player in Chevalier School in Pampanga, Deacon shifted to basketball after her high school volleyball varsity team was shut down, a blessing in disguise for the young Filipino-Australian.
Rookie campaign
After swapping volleyball for basketball, Deacon soon became a huge fan of the Ateneo Women’s Basketball Team after her close friend invited her to watch one of their games. It was inevitable that Deacon would pull on the Blue and White of the Lady Eagles.
“Ateneo is far beyond my dream school. First of all, sa academics pa lang, I’m not that smart. Tapos the Lady Eagles were playing great basketball, and I don’t play like that. So parang accepted fate ko na hindi ako makakapasok,” she explained.
(Ateneo is far beyond my dream school. First of all, I’m not good with academics. Plus, the Lady Eagles were playing great basketball, and I don’t play like that. So I accepted my fate of not getting into the Ateneo.)
A few weeks later and much to her surprise, Deacon received an invitation to try out for the Lady Eagles. Upon hearing the news of her acceptance into the Ateneo, she was jumping for joy. “It was really the best feeling in the world.”
The first day of training for Season 75, however, seemed more like hell than paradise for Deacon. It was a big struggle for the Chevalier School alumna as she barely had the basic fundamental skills and relied solely on her height. She considered herself constantly at fault for her team’s losses in their 5-on-5 scrimmages during practice. As the only rookie on the team, the stress Deacon experienced affected her emotionally on a daily basis.
“The fact na ako yung nagpapatalo, ang sakit, ang bigat. Yung kahit sa training lang patalo pa rin, ano pa mapapakita ko sa game (The fact that I was making the team lose, it hurts, it feels heavy. What else can I show in the game if even just in training, I make the team lose)?”
However, these circumstances only served as motivation for her to keep pushing and working harder. Despite her struggles on the court, Deacon knew that her ates in the team still believed in her. They continually pushed her to her limits, especially great Lady Eagle Danica Jose, who served as her biggest inspiration for leading the team.
“Gusto ko talaga abutin si Danica kasi gusto ko rin na pwede akong asahan (I want to be like Danica, because I want to be someone whom the team can rely on),” she said.
With that goal in mind, Deacon went to work. On top of grinding it out everyday from 6:00-9:00 AM, she put in extra work half an hour before training started. But the results did not immediately show for Deacon.
“Paulit-ulit na training pero parang wala pa rin akong nakikita. Kahit five straight shots lang nga hindi ko pa magawa (I kept training but I didn’t see any improvement. I could not even make five straight shots).”
Such were Deacon’s struggles in her early years in the league, but even with all the difficulties weighing her down, she never gave up. She did not want to disappoint her coaches and teammates who believed in her. “I didn’t give up because I just wanted to give back. I didn’t want people to have regrets on why they got me,” she said.
Off-court struggle
Just when Deacon was starting to put it together on the court, off-court issues suddenly popped up. With basketball taking most of her time, Deacon momentarily lost focus on her academics, and as a result served probation in Season 77. Because of her academic status, Deacon was not allowed to train or compete with the team. Although a low point in her life, she never once thought about quitting. Her mother and sister depended on her and believed in her, and that was enough motivation for Deacon to keep moving forward.
“Nalungkot ako kasi nandito na nga ako, tapos hindi ko pa matatapos. Ayaw ko ma-feel ng mom ko na nagkulang siya as a parent (I felt sad because I was already here, and yet I could not even finish what I started. I didn’t want my mom to feel that she was lacking as a parent).”
The probation status was a huge wake up call for Deacon, as she realized that no matter how good one is at a sport, being a student always comes first. It was a lesson learned, and she shifted all her focus to academics to once again return to the team.
“Kahit sabihin mong ikaw yung pinakamagaling sa team, ikaw nagbibitbit sa team, kung hindi ka mag-aaral, walang mangyayari sa iyo (Even if you’re the best player in the team, even if you carry the team, if you don’t study, nothing will happen to you).”
Stepping up
After Danica Jose graduated in Season 78 with the Lady Eagles reaching the finals in an unprecedented run as the fourth seed, Deacon was immediately thrust into the spotlight and was now tasked to fill the huge gap that the Lady Eagles idol left. However, in what was supposed to be her breakout year, she was hampered by a nagging shoulder injury.
With several recurrent dislocations, Deacon felt downcast. “Every time na nagpe-peak ako, lagi akong na-iinjure. Tapos back to zero na naman ako (Everytime I peak, I get injured. Then I go back to zero),” she said.
To make matters worse, the team’s trainer, Jose Vergara, told her that she would need surgery if she continued to dislocate her shoulder. This twist of events prompted Deacon to take her therapy very seriously. She yearned to contribute to the team, and knew that her teammates needed her and relied on her.
Upon entering her fifth and final season, things were looking very bright for Deacon and the Lady Eagles. Racing to a 2-0 start in Season 80, the team looked poised to make a run for the Final Four. Expectations ran high and there was a lot of pressure on the team, but it all came crashing down when the team lost six straight games and were on the brink of elimination. It didn’t help that Deacon’s shoulder injury relapsed in their second round opener against the University of the East Lady Warriors, forcing her to be sidelined.
However, unlike previous relapses of her shoulder injury wherein she would sit out at least two weeks to recuperate, Deacon quickly went back to action in the same game knowing that she was badly needed in the game.
“Sinabi kasi ni Coach John [Flores] sa akin na ang laki ng role ko sa team, na kailangan talaga ako ng team. Kahit ang sakit, inaasahan ako ng team eh. Kaya sabi ko kailangan kong bumalik (Coach John Flores told me that my role in the team is big, and that the team really needs me. Even if it hurts, the team was relying on me. That’s why I needed to return).” Although it still resulted into a loss, Deacon’s fighting spirit served as an inspiration for herself and her teammates to keep playing hard.
In the next game, Deacon and the team were all fired up, defeating archrivals De La Salle University Lady Archers in convincing fashion to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. After the game, Deacon recalls the words of Coach Flores to the team. “There’s still a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. May nakikita na akong spark (I’m already seeing a spark),” he said on the team’s Final Four chances.
This was something Deacon took to heart. However, with a crushing one point loss to the Adamson University Lady Falcons that ended their playoff hopes, the team, especially Deacon, was devastated. “That light just flickered out. It was like everything was pitch dark now. It was the most heartbreaking game of my life.”
After the game, with nothing else to fight for, it was as if the life was just sucked out of each and every player. But with two games left on their schedule, the Lady Eagles wanted to finish the season on a winning note for their senior players, fans, and supporters. And for Deacon, it was now a matter of making the most out of her remaining time with the team.
Taking on a mentorship role
With her tenure on the team ending, it was time for Deacon to switch to a mentorship role of guiding her teammates and helping them with their struggles. She described her mentorship experience with Denise Morelos as the most special because of the remarkable similarities in their physical traits and skills. “Seeing her play, parang nakikita ko sarili ko (Seeing her play, I saw myself in her).”
With tons of experience under her belt, Deacon always gave meaningful advice to Morelos. “Sinasabi ko sa kanya palagi na magtiwala lang siya sa sarili niya. Pagtiyagaan niya lang yung process. At pinakaimportante, hanapin niya yung motivation niya.”
(I always told her to trust in herself, to persevere in the process, and most importantly to find her motivation.)
When Morelos’s number was called in the second round matchup against National University, a sense of pride beamed out of Deacon as she watched her young mentee go toe-to-toe with the Lady Bulldog’s twin tower. “Sobrang proud talaga ako that time. For her to hold her own against those two girls [MVP Jack Animam and Mythical Five Member Rhena Itesi], wow. Iba talaga yung feeling para sa akin na beterano niya.”
(I was so proud of her at that time. For her to hold her own against those two girls [MVP Jack Animam and Mythical Five Member Rhena Itesi], wow. It was really a different feeling for me as her mentor.)
The end of a journey
Since the moment she decided to pull on a basketball jersey, Deacon has given the sport her all. From the 6 o’ clock morning trainings everyday, to spending months at a time away from her family, Deacon has devoted six years of her life to basketball. After the long and difficult journey, the Lady Eagles star has decided to hang up the jersey.
“Ateneo has taught me so much in life, and that basketball isn’t everything in life. That’s why it’s time for me to say goodbye to basketball,” she said. Despite enduring a disappointing season to end her career, Deacon still has a lot to be thankful for. “[It] isn’t just a sport. It teaches you about life also. It makes you grow [and] mature as a person,” she explained.
With her basketball days coming to an end, Deacon now shifts her sight to fulfilling her dream of becoming a flight attendant. It’s a tall task attempting to enter a field she has no prior experience in, but after overcoming all the obstacles and challenges in her six-year sports journey, Deacon is more than ready to conquer her newest challenge.
After initially making the choice to swap sports, training hard and putting in extra hours, and now departing the Lady Eagles as a UAAP star, it has been quite a roller coaster ride for Deacon. Trusting her coaches and teammates and being thankful to them for taking a chance on her is what kept her going all those years, and she will keep those memories close to her heart as she forges onward towards a brighter future.
