After a year of personal struggles, Eka Soriano finds herself again in the hopes of helping the UST Growling Tigresses keep the UAAP crown in España.
UAAP Season 86 was a revelation year for the UST Growling Tigresses, as they ended a 17-year championship dry spell by taking down the high and mighty NU Lady Bulldogs in a cardiac three-game series.
But in the midst of the championship jubilation and the deafening chants of “Go USTe!” that rang through the Big Dome was a storm brewing inside of one of the triumphant Tigresses.
UST veteran Eka Soriano had mixed feelings inside her heart. Because even as the Growling Tigresses had made history in denying NU their 8-peat bid, there was something that was amiss.
During the season, it was evident that Soriano, who was crowned MVP just the season prior, was not herself – both mentally and physically.
All year long, she struggled in finding her groove as she grappled with a nagging ankle injury.
Even as she tried to power her body through the physical side of it, Soriano just couldn’t get the right mindset to play at her best.
“Last year kasi, sobrang frustrated ako sa ankle ko.” Soriano told One Sports.
“Kasi nga everyone was looking at me, [because I was] Season 85 MVP, pero mali 'yung naging mindset ko. Dapat hindi ako nagfocus kung ano 'yung nakuha ko noon. Dapat mas importante pa rin 'yung contribution ko sa team.”
Despite being UST head coach Haydee Ong’s anchor on offense in Season 85, Soriano was forced to take a backseat in their run to the championship.
Kent Pastrana, the Growling Tigresses’ blue chip recruit, lived up to the billing as she became the focal point in scoring for UST. She, along with the likes of Tacky Tacatac, Tantoy Ferrer, and Nikki Villasin filled in the void that Soriano struggled to fill.
Learning from her mistakes in mindset last season, Soriano has slowly but surely regained her footing in Season 86, where the Growling Tigresses are currently unbeaten at 3-0 and are atop the standings.
But more than getting her MVP form back, the UST senior said that she was more concerned on doing what it takes to help the Growling Tigresses keep their championship intact.
“This year ang ginawa ko talaga is inenjoy ko. Sabi ko, every game, gagawin ko lang best ko at hindi ako masyado pupukpok na literal na hindi naman kailangan gawin, stick lang ako sa sistema.” she said.
Soriano’s mindset change comes as Pastrana takes on an even bigger role among the seniors, while young guns are also getting in on the action, with UST rookie Karylle Sierba showing tremendous potential in their first few games.
With UST being able to share the rock more during games, Soriano underscored her disregard for personal stats.
“Ngayon [defense] yung finocus ko. Kumbaga, di ako nagfofocus ngayon sa scoring. Talagang yung puntos, manggagaling lang sa defense.” said Soriano.
“Kasi kung mas magfofocus ako sa sarili ko, baka hindi na kami umabot ng championship kaya mas okay na lahat kami mas nakakapagcontribute.” she added.
On the physical side, Soriano bared that she was also close to feeling her best after addressing her ankle injury with surgery earlier this year.
Even as she has more to give, she’s also practicing caution to be able to be there for her team until the final stretch of the season.
“After my surgery last June 2024, I think it’s at 70-80%, naglalabanan.” she said about her conditioning.
“Pero mas confident ako kumpara last year kasi yun talaga totally pinilit ko eh. Pero eto, proceso parin siya so kailangan di mawala yung rehab ko everyday para pagdating ng mga games, if ever sana, hindi ako mainjury,” she continued.
From trying to recover mentally from winning a championship with a frustrated mind to being eager to keep the title in España, Soriano has no shortage of motivation of wanting to contribute for her team.
But now competing as defending champions, the UST cager knows that it’s not going to be given to her on a silver platter.
Still, after being raised in the Tigresses' den, Soriano is ready to fight.
“Alam namin na mas hihirap to kasi first round palang but sana magstick kami sa goal namin. Sa kung ano yung gusto marating. Syempre, gusto namin idefend yung championship. Di yun ganun kadali, kailangan namin mas pagtrabahuhan,” she said.
Saturday brings Soriano and the Growling Tigresses’ biggest challenge yet as they face a fiercely motivated NU squad in a rematch of last year’s exciting finals in the first game of women’s hoops at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UST and NU collide in what is expected to be a heated battle of title contenders at 11:30 a.m. Both teams are atop the standings with identical undefeated records after three games in the season.