THIS early, newly crowned NCAA women’s volleyball champion College of St. Benilde, is eyeing a title repeat after bringing down San Sebastian in a gut-wrenching finale.
And Lady Blazers coach Michael Carino wants to start the ball rolling by appointing Finals MVP Jeanette Panaga as their new team captain come next season.
“Siya na,” said Carino moments after St. Benilde clinched its first ever NCAA crown by downing Grethcel Soltones and San Sebastian, 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, Thursday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Panaga, a 21-year-old proud daughter of Limay, Bataan, earned the confidence of Carino after a masterful performance in the finals, where the Lady Blazers erased the Lady Stags’ “thrice-to-beat advantage” by winning three games to one.
It was in the fourth and final game, however, where Panaga shone the brightest as she came through with a series-best seven blocks that helped slow down the usually high-scoring Soltones, who was held to just 19 hits after averaging 28.3 in the first three finals games.
Panaga said she will accept the challenge.
“It’s not easy but it’s a responsibility that I will gladly accept,” said Panaga in Filipino.
Panaga will take over from setter and this season’s skipper Djanel Cheng and the team’s other leader, Janine Navarro, who were both instrumental in the Lady Blazers’ storybook run.
The road to success was not easy though for Carino and the Lady Blazers.
When Carino took over and replaced Thelma Barina three years ago, he didn’t think the Lady Blazers could achieve what they accomplished in the present after seeing an overweight team.
“The first time I saw them, I thought I was handling a sumo team and not a volleyball team,” said Carino.
But Carino found a way to change the culture and molded his squad from a non-semifinalist on his first season as a coach two years ago, to a semifinalist last year and now, the league’s newest champion.