Amid a whirlwind of emotions, UST veterans Detdet Pepito and Pia Abbu expressed gratefulness after exiting UAAP Season 87 in the Final Four.
Losses in sports often feel a range of emotions, most of them ugly and sad, especially when a team hits the end of the road in a tournament.
But for UST seniors Detdet Pepito and Pia Abbu, it was a surprising realization that despite the sadness of a Final Four loss to La Salle in UAAP Season 87, it was a rather positive emotion that came bubbling up in the end.
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After spending a long time in the dugout, Pepito and Abbu emerged to talk to media with a positive attitude. That, despite everything that happened in UST’s season, there was still a lot to be proud of and celebrate.
Like true UST student-athletes, both veterans were able to see the good in everything they went through during a challenging campaign.
“Of course, super proud and thankful po sa lahat ng sumuporta sa amin. I know talagang marami po kaming pinagdaanan, yung team namin this season… di naman po talaga kami nag give up and nag-stick po kami sa system na meron yung UST and ayun, happy po kasi kahit papano, naka-podium finish, bronze,” Pepito said, after leading UST as team captain and ace libero.
“Yun nga, happy pa rin kami kasi maraming teams ang may gusto ng Final Four so, yet kami yung nandito.”
Pepito and Abbu were arguably the most emotional of the Golden Tigresses when the UST hymn filled the Big Dome after their match against La Salle.
With their UAAP future remaining uncertain, Abbu shared her captain’s sentiment in being able to finish the year in the way that they did. At the end of the day, the middle blocker believed that the team's sacrifices were all worth it despite the semis loss.
“Super proud din sa teammates ko, sa coaches ko. Kasi alam naman talaga namin na tinrabaho namin and grabe yung sacrifices na binuhos namin, di makasama yung mga pamilya namin, malayo kami sa kanila. Di kami makaalis kasi kailangan namin magensayo. So lahat yun, sobrang grateful padin,” said Abbu.
“Kasi sabi nga ng coaches, madaming gusto kung nasan kami ngayon and hindi lahat nabibigyan ng opportunity para umabot sa Final Four and kami, thankful padin na nagka-bronze and nagka-podium,” she added.
During their interview with media at the sidelines of the match, both remained coy on whether or not they would stay for another year with the Golden Tigresses.
For now, though, both players are eager to get back to the academic aspect of being a “student-athlete” in UST. As they head into the final stretch of the academic year, both Pepito and Abbu are raring to get back and hit the books.
“Finals week na din po [sa UST] so ayun nga, sabi din ng coaches kanina sa meeting namin na, pag-aaral pa din kasi tapos na nga yung season so yun yung isang priority pa namin. Yung maging student,” said Abbu.