Rookie hitter Jihan Chuatico didn’t get the rookie year she imagined with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, but nothing can hold her back from what’s yet to come in the UAAP.
It’s tough to go in as a rookie for a team that’s rebuilding — and more so if that team undergoes multiple injuries in the course of the year, such as what happened with the Ateneo Blue Eagles in UAAP Season 87.
But for Jihan Chuatico, among the promising first-year players for Sergio Veloso, there’s not a challenge that she wasn’t willing to face, even as she admitted that it wasn’t exactly how she imagined her first foray into the UAAP.
Thrust into the scoring spotlight due to injuries to more veteran hitters in the earlier part of the season, Chuatico provided veteran-like moves for the Blue Eagles — particularly in their last win of the year against the UE Lady Warriors on Saturday.
[READ: Ateneo ends campaign on a high as Blue Eagles send UE to 0-14 in UAAP Season 87]
After the game, Chuatico said that it was all a product of Veloso’s philosophy that has also been done in practice by her seniors.
“I think for me this rookie year ko, [it] isn’t the rookie year that I expected to have. Pero knowing yung nangyari, still, nakikita ko pa rin yung ini-instill na strong mind na sinasabi ni coach. Ina-apply din. Nakikita ko na ginagawa ng ates yun and it gives me inspiration. Nai-inspire ako to continue that strong mind mentality all throughout the season,” said Chuatico.
“I think na-apply ko yun siya today kaya ayun, I’m very happy na yun nga, nailabas ko yung laro ko and naka-bring ako ng panalo today,” she added.
Among her biggest contributions was in the first set, when she repelled a comeback from the Lady Warriors, scoring three straight points to clinch the opener after UE was within a point late, 21-22.
In the final game of her rookie year, Chuatico had a game-high 16 points, which backstopped a team effort from Lyann De Guzman, AC Miner, and Alex Montoro.
With still a long way to go in her UAAP career with the Blue Eagles, Chuatico is not one to panic, even after her first year ended up with a missed chance at the Final Four.
Rather, with a lot ahead of them, she believes that she and the rest of the Blue Eagles have everything to gain in the following years, especially as coach Veloso also enters his third year in the program.
“For the future of Ateneo I think it’s gonna be very bright kasi knowing that yung mga rookies na kasama ko, they’re also very brave, they’re also very strong mentally, lahat,” said the wing spiker.
“So I hope na madaming tao pa rin will continue to support us kasi alam ko na we have the skills na to challenge top teams next year,” she added.
Despite the challenges, Ateneo finished the year at 5-9 at 7th place. Last year, they finished with the same record but ended up in 5th place in the standings.