MANILA, Philippines - She felt adrenaline rush down her spine again as the UP crowd at the jam-packed San Juan Arena cheered for her. A mix of emotions, both excitement and nervousness, were evident as she breathed heavily before entering the court.
After months of rest, Kathy Bersola was finally back in action.
“Kanina feeling ko lumilipad ako. Surreal siya,” the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons captain told Rappler after her first UAAP game since suffering an ACL injury in her left knee in January of 2015.
(I felt like I was flying. It was surreal.)
Bersola contributed 7 markers while rookies Justine Dorog and Diana Carlos led the scoring with 9 points each to hand the University of the Philippines their first win this season against the University of the East, 25-20, 25-13, 25-21 yesterday, January 31.
“Feeling ko hindi ako nawala pero at the same time, maraming adjustments,” Bersola said on her performance.
(Somehow, I felt that I didn’t sit out for a while but at the same time, I know there are adjustments to be made.)
The fourth year middle hitter was able to shake off some rust in the Shakey's V-League reinforced conference, which concluded last November. Bersola was a key factor in UP's bridesmaid finish and was awarded as one of the Best Middle Blockers together with teammate Sheena Chopitea.
Still, she admits she's still adjusting her game to the court.
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Bersola says the injury taught her a valuable lesson, which was to not be too tense during games.
“I learned to relax. I learned to loosen up more and take care of my body,” she said, adding: “I learned to be patient and to be resilient.”
This win was a big deal for the UP community, which has stood out in its support for the women’s volleyball team. Despite the support, Coach Jerry Yee wasn’t happy about his girls’ performance after they gave up 22 errors to UE.
“Nung nagka dalawang errors ako nung first set, product lang talaga siya ng excitement,” even Bersola confessed to getting her game out of hand due to too much excitement.
(When I committed two errors in the first set, I just knew it was because of excitement.)
The Diliman-based squad hopes to improve on this aspect as the season progresses.
The Lady Maroons will next face the De La Salle Lady Archers on February 6, Saturday, at the San Juan Arena and Bersola said they will prepare well for this.
“We will just play our game and everything else will follow.”
Young squad
UP is bannered by a pool of dependable rookies and they are keen on playing to this advantage.
“Mas confident and mas maliksi yung team namin ngayon kasi puro rookies yung mga kasama namin. Mas kampante sa sarili dahil alam namin na sobrang pinaghirapan naming to,” Bersola said.
(Our team is now more confident and energetic since we have a lot of rookies. We know we really worked hard for this.)
Kathy Bersola bears a lot of pressure of being the team leader while focusing on her individual game. There’s relief in knowing that her team and the UP community have got her back. – Rappler.com