MANILA, Philippines – Former De La Salle Lady Spiker Aby Maraño says she is left in awe of Ara Galang’s tenacious fighting spirit after coming back from serious knee injuries last season in the UAAP.
Galang, an open hitter playing on her final year for the Lady Spikers, suffered season-ending tears in her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and medial miniscus, including a big bone bruise in a Final Four victory over the NU Lady Bulldogs last March.
But ex-team captain Maraño, who visited La Salle’s practice in December, raved Galang looks like she never missed a beat.
“Sobrang tapang niya na babae. After so many months na hindi ko siya nakitang naglaro or nag-train, every time I visit La Salle I always want to carry her or alalayan ko siya,” Maraño shared with Rappler.
(READ: Maraño shows softer side on Rappler Sports Twitter Takeover)
“Pero nung nakita ko siyang maglaro, mag-train ulit, nasabi ko talaga sa sarili ko, no joke, na parang walang nangyari.”
(She’s a very brave girl. After so many months that I didn’t see her play or train, every time I visit La Salle I always want to carry her or assist her. But when I saw her play and train again, I told myself, no joke, it’s like nothing happened.)
Maraño, who said the Lady Spikers’ practices are as intense as ever, said Galang is not holding anything back. The 21-year-old Galang, a co-MVP with Maraño in Season 75, is raring to end Season 78 with the volleyball crown back at Taft.
“All out pa rin yung galaw niya na parang normal. Wala siyang takot,” said Maraño, who won two championships with Galang. “Sabi ko talaga sa sarili ko ang tapang niya, ang tapang ng personality niya na despite what happened to her, ilang buwan lang naglalaro na siya.”
(LOOK BACK: Feeling helpless, Galang focuses on recovery before La Salle comeback)
“Si Ara ang ganda ng mindset nung bata, palaban talaga,” she added. (She goes all out still like normal. No fear. I really told myself that she’s so brave, she has such a brave personality that despite what happened to her, in just months she’s playing again.)
Galang will reportedly make her return on Wednesday, February 3 as La Salle debuts against the FEU Lady Tamaraws at 4 pm.
‘Seniors must go all out’
Maraño admitted she has yet to see the Lady Spikers in action and can’t make a fair assessment for the season yet, but she is certain of what she wants to see.
“What I want to see from them is yung seniors is everyone should give their all out talaga performance. When I left La Salle, I went all out,” she explained in a mix of Filipino and English. “Every single game it’s such a good feeling knowing I gave it my all. During my last game then I knew I had nothing else to prove.”
Among the seniors going on one last dance with La Salle this year are Galang, Mika Reyes, Cyd Demecillo, Mika Esperanza and Carol Cerveza.
“They should all step up because they’re graduating already,” Maraño added.
The biggest challenge for La Salle this season also stems from the team’s edge, according to Maraño.
“There are a lot of seniors. All of them are ripe veterans already,” she explained. “They’ve been playing so long together in college already that the challenge now is how they will jell as one so everyone can put in a good performance for the team. It can’t just be one person doing everything.”
Maraño, who is now focusing on her volleyball career in the Philppine Super Liga but will be able to watch more UAAP games, is hopeful as well for the new batch of rookies with good potential to carry on the Lady Spikers’ winning tradition.
“I think they will deliver, our rookies. They’re tall, they have a good chance to block,” she said. “Kailangan pang pukpukin lang para mahinog (They just need to be trained more to become ripe).” – Rappler.com