US basketball

Central Luzon dedicates revenge win over CALABARZON to injured teammate

Kaye Cabal

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Central Luzon dedicates revenge win over CALABARZON to injured teammate
The Central Luzon secondary girls volleyball team drew inspiration from injured teammate Rafaelle Del Rosario as they exacted revenge on CALABARZON for last year's defeat

LAGUNA, Philippines – The Central Luzon secondary girls volleyball squad couldn’t help but feel a sense of vengeance as they took down host team CALABARZON in three grueling sets, 26-24, 21-25, and 25-21 on Tuesday, May 6. 

This victory carries the most weight in their bid for a championship not only because they were able to improve their elimination record but also because CALABARZON shut down Central Luzon’s hopes of advancing to the semifinals last year.   

At Palaro 2013, Central Luzon finished 7th in this division after bowing down to CALABARZON in two straight sets, 25-9 and 25-19, of their own quarterfinals pairing. 

According to Central Luzon Head Coach Michael Bengco, this is the best chance to get back at CALABARZON after last year’s upset.

“Ito yung tinatawig namin na pagbawi namin sa kanila. Ang saya ng feeling ngayon dahil nakabawi kami,” he shared. (This is what we call our revenge to them. We are really happy right now because we were able to get back at them)

The victory, however, was accomplished by the team without Rafaelle Del Rosario, an incoming senior student and 3-time Palaro participant, as she suffered an injury in her right patella during their game against Western Visayas which has forced her to sit out the remainder of their games for this year. 

“Mas [gusto] namin na makapagpahinga siya kesa isugal pa namin siya. Next year nalang siya bumawi (We would rather have her rest than risk her injury. She can just bounce back next year),” Coach Bengco said.

According to their Team Captain Aivee Marie Lugtu, also an incoming senior, the team prepared rigorously for this game with the whole team dedicating this victory to del Rosario. 

Syempre po pinaghandaan po talaga namin. Kasi po last year dikitan lang. Para po sa kanya yung game, inspiration po namin (siya), said Lugtu, a 2-time Palaro participant.

(We really trained hard for this since it was a close game last year. This game is for her [Del Rosario]; she is our inspiration.”)

Del Rosario watched the game from the sidelines on crutches and bared how she felt about the team dedicating the win to her.

“Na-touch po ako kasi obviously di na po ako makakapaglaro this year, parang ginawa po nila akong inspiration, parang hindi po ako nawalan ng role sa team,” said Del Rosario. (I was touched because obviously I will no longer be able to play this year, they made me their inspiration, they made me feel like I did not lost a role in the team)

When asked what one piece of advice that they can give to their fellow young athletes, Lugtu and Del Rosario said the same thing.

“Walang susuko (No one should give up). 

Central Luzon finished the eliminations round with a 3-1 record and is now playing the waiting game as they hope for Western Visayas (3-0) to win over CALABARZON (2-1) tomorrow, May 7, to boost their chance of advancing to the quarterfinals which are slated to take place on Thursday, May 8. – Rappler.com

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Kaye Cabal

Kaye Cabal leads Rappler’s Digital Communications team and has been with Rappler since 2014. Her interest in and dedication to social media grew deeper with her love and passion for Philippine sports. She is a BS Development Communication graduate of UP Los Baños.