Fourth-year spiker Irah Jaboneta is among the veteran players in UP who experienced losing seasons with the Diliman team prior to what has been a strong Season 87 for the Fighting Maroons.
Success has been hard to come by in recent years for the UP Fighting Maroons.
But now, as they are currently on strong run in UAAP Season 87 and just half a game behind the fourth spot in the standings, things are starting to look optimistic for the spikers from Diliman.
For veteran hitter Irah Jaboneta, it has been a long time coming for the Fighting Maroons, who have always been working to be more competitive in the women’s volleyball tournament. With a chance to make their first semifinals since UAAP Season 78, she’s more than happy to see them compete.
“Sobrang saya po kasi ilang taon din… Kaming mga seniors, ilang taon din namin pinangarap at trinabaho. So ngayon nagpupunga siya so sobrang saya,” Jaboneta told reporters on the sidelines after their win over UE on Sunday.
“Pero syempre nga hindi pa kami kontento dun kasi mayroon pa kaming goal na dapat i-reach. So trabaho pa po ng trabaho.”
After going through a rough four-game losing skid in the middle of the first round, UP has since won three of their last four games — including an absolute stunner over the NU Lady Bulldogs last Wednesday.
[READ: UP rolls past UE as Fighting Maroons start to near top-4 in UAAP Season 87]
Asked about their growth through the tournament, Jaboneta believes that the losses were essential to get to where they are now.
"For me, masaya [kami], lucky and blessed sa mga talo and panalo nung mga nakarang games. Kasi laking factor po yun na naging motivation namin na ilaban siya every game,” said Jaboneta.
“Kasi may mga sayang and may mga games na nilaban namin so dun kami humuhugot lagi ng lakas para i-panalo yung every game,” she added.
Stepping up as one of the more consistent scorers for the team, Jaboneta hopes to lean on even more teamwork from the Fighting Maroons to hopefully get them over the hump and give themselves a shot at glory.
“Ngayon iba po yung chemistry and yung teamwork. Parang pamilya talaga na ngayon ng ang daming bata. Pero parang mas nag-enjoy kami kasi nga sila mismo, yung nakiki, ate, ate, ganito, ganun. At kaming mga ate, sobrang lucky na open po sila sa amin,” said Jaboneta, speaking about newcomers to the team.
“At nakikita namin na ngayon taon lang sila. Masaya sila nakasama kami. So yun po yung pinagkaiba ngayon,” she added.
Despite their recent success, the road is far from over for the Fighting Maroons.
[RELATED: UAAP: Streaking UP Fighting Maroons looking for consistency as Final Four race heats up]
Up next on their assignments is the FEU Lady Tamaraws, whom they beat during their first round encounter in straight sets.
The Fighting Maroons lock horns with the Lady Tams on Sunday, April 6, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.