If UST rookie Marga Altea had it her way from the beginning, she would be playing a different position in the ongoing UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
“Setter po [ang gusto ko],” she snickers, just a few minutes after the Golden Tigresses’ training wrapped up inside UST’s Quadricentennial Pavilion on a late Tuesday night.
“Pero kung sa dalawa [na positions lang], middle blocker po talaga,” she added shyly as if she were a kid caught with her hand inside a cookie jar.
(I prefer to be a setter. But if it’s choosing between two positions, I’d rather be a middle blocker.)
This has been a hot topic among the fiercely loyal UST volleyball fans for months now, and it all started when Altea, one of the best middle blockers to have emerged from the proud UST high school volleyball program, began her transition to becoming an outside hitter during the 2024 off-season.
And the confusion and the frustration of the supporters were understandable.
Here’s a 6-foot-2 athletic volleyball player who spent years mastering the right approach, speed, and timing of a middle blocker, and eventually won individual awards for it; then all of a sudden, she gets pulled out of a position she is great at, only for her to start over and learn the ropes of becoming an outside hitter.
The position requires a completely different skill set, yet she was tasked to at least be decent at it, all before the UAAP started back in February.
“Kahit po ako hindi ko naintindihan. Bakit ako [ang kailangan ma-convert]?” Altea shared.
(Even I don’t understand. Why should it be me who needs to convert?)
Altea has been asked about this whole dilemma dozens of times. By friends, family. By the media. And she has given “pageant answers” because she and the entire team have been media trained to answer questions with caution so as to not offend anyone.
But inside her second home where she felt vulnerable yet comfortable, she continued to open up.
“Noong una po talaga, kulang na lang ipagdasal ko na huwag na ako ma-lineup. Sobrang down ko na. Halu-halo na ‘yung takot, kaba, ‘tsaka ‘yung fear of disappointing people like my coaches, my teammates, tapos mga fans,” she said.
(I was hoping and praying before that I wouldn’t be lined up. I felt so down. It was a mix of fear and nervousness, fear of disappointing people like my coaches, my teammates, and the fans.)
And it showed.
In her first game in the seniors division, Altea scored 10 points in UST’s losing cause against FEU. She may have matched the output of veteran teammate Reg Jurado, but it was clear back then that she was far from mastering the floor defense side of being a wing spiker.
This only fueled further discussions on how bad of a decision it was for the UST coaching staff to remove her from her comfort zone.
But UST head coach Kung Fu Reyes remained steadfast and bullish as he fielded Altea as a starter in all of the Golden Tigresses’ seven games in the first round, five of which they won.
Altea tallied 7.4 points per game after sharing the position’s playing minutes with Mabeth Hilongo in the first half of the eliminations.
“Sobrang dami ko pa kailangan matutunan pero ang difference po siguro ngayon compared to nung bago magsimula ang UAAP, mas naintindihan ko na ngayon ‘yung mga ‘bakit’ na di ko alam ang sagot before,” she said as she broke into a smile.
(There are still so many things that I need to learn, but the difference now to the time when the UAAP just started, I already understand the ‘whys,’ unlike before when I didn’t know the answer.)
“Injured si Ate Jonna (Perdido) and si Ate Xyza (Gula). Manipis ang tao namin sa outside hitter position and kung sa experience, ako po talaga ang meron kahit papaano dahil nilaro ko din naman po ito nung last playing year ko sa juniors (division),” she added.
(Jonna Perdido and Xyza Gula are injured. Our lineup in the outside hitter position is lean. And when it comes to experience, I probably had more because I already played this during my last playing year in the juniors division.)
It’s not as if she was sent to battle without the weapons she needed to succeed.
Aside from joining UST’s training camp in Japan back in January, Altea has also been spending extra minutes post-training to practice defense and reception with the help of her coaches and the team’s ball launcher.
The result? Little by little, Altea is progressing in her first ball contact while also getting the hang of hammering the ball from the left pin.
And if there is one person she hopes to make proud someday, and hopefully within the season, it’s UST team captain Detdet Pepito.
“Hindi ko ito nasasabi kay Ate Det (Pepito) pero trina-trabaho ko po talaga na matuto at makatulong sa kanya lalo sa likod kasi hindi niya lang alam ang laki ng impact niya sa ‘kin as a player,” said the freshman.
(I haven’t told Det Pepito, but I’m really working hard to learn and to help her, especially from the back; she doesn’t know how much of an impact she has on me as a player.)
“Grabe ang pasensya niya sa akin. Pag nag error ako, imbes na talakan niya ako, hihinto siya saglit and then kakausapin niya ako at tuturuan kung paano ba dapat sa susunod pag nangyari ulit. Minsan nga mali ko na, aakuin niya pa para lang di ako ma-pressure,” she added.
(She’s been so patient with me. When I make an error, instead of screaming at me, she’ll pull me aside, talk to me, and teach me how to do it right next time. Sometimes, even it was my mistake, she’ll take it just so I won’t feel pressured.)
This, despite a recent viral video of Pepito mouthing curse words to herself after she and Altea miscommunicated in defense, causing the team to lose a crucial point in their match versus NU just last weekend.
“Hindi po towards sa’kin ‘yun. Inaako niya po ang frustration kasi ganung klase po siyang captain. And I can only aspire to be as good as her someday,” Altea said.
“Kaya po sa training, focused po talaga ako. I want to make Ate Det proud.“
(It wasn’t directed at me. She just took the frustration because she’s that kind of captain. And I can only aspire to be as good as her someday. That’s why I’m really focused in training, I want to make her proud.)
In those two and a half hours of training, the team’s first session in preparation for the second round, Altea’s laser-sharp focus was evident.
When she is inside the court and doing drills, there will be no talking for her. No laughing with teammates. Not even a smile in sight.
Through the repetitions, she will be poker-faced.
As the coaches and her seniors bombard her with tips, she would nod and try again.
And when she is done, she would walk off the court and mouth words to herself as if repeating the things she just learned for better retention.
She may have been forced to grow faster than her batchmates after new responsibilities weighed her down temporarily, but it is clear that UST is in possession of a hardworking athlete who now understands that in a team sport like volleyball, what she wants must take a backseat to what the team needs.
Now a few days removed from a spectacular showdown against defending champion NU where she got to play against one of her idols in Alyssa Solomon, Altea finds herself more inspired than ever to keep finding ways to help UST reach its goals.
“Pangit po nung laro ko nung first set, ang lala,” she laughed.
“Pero nung nasa labas po ako, tapos nakita at narinig ko ‘yung crowd, iba po pala talaga. First ‘sea of yellow’ experience ko ‘yun tapos lumuwas pa si mama. Kung ganun naman ang crowd, mahihiya ka na lang talaga na hindi gumalaw ng maayos,” added Altea.
(I played badly in the first set, really terrible. But when I got fielded out, and I saw and heard the crowd, it was really different. It was my first ‘sea of yellow experience’ and my mama came to watch. If that’s the kind of crowd you have, you’d be embarrassed not to play well.)
With the action set to go several notches higher as teams aim to bag more wins to secure a slot in the Final Four, Altea intends to attend training and play the games with a reignited love for what she does.
“Hindi na po ako anxious bago ang laro after ng experience sa game namin versus NU. Dahil dun sa pinakita ng crowd na suporta, excited na ako kaya maraming salamat po sa kanila,” she closed before joining the rest of the Golden Tigresses to cool down.
(I’m no longer anxious before a match after experiencing that game versus NU. Because of the support the crowd showed, I’m really excited, that’s why I’m thankful for them.)
As the air conditioning started to shut down along with some lights inside UST’s humongous gym, it’s a little bit more clear why UST made sure this homegrown talent stays within the España compound for her collegiate career.
She already worked her way onto becoming one of the best volleyball players in the high school ranks. And with the grit she has shown so far, she might just do it again albeit in a different position.
That makes her ONE great asset FOR UST. – Rappler.com