La Salle’s Ara Galang and Cyd Demecillo share a moment after the Lady Spikers clinched the UAAP Season 78 women’s volleyball title on Saturday, April 30, 2016, at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Back in Season 77, De La Salle’s Ara Galang suffered an injury that took half a year for her to recover.
Galang missed an all-important duel with Ateneo in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament Finals after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the semifinals against National University and watched her Lady Spikers bow in a sweep.
Fast-forward to Season 78 and Galang, back in full strength, finally got to play in the championship and win it all.
READ: La Salle snaps Ateneo’s streak, nabs 9th UAAP title
“Una pasalamat ako kay Lord, thank you sa lahat ng talent na binigay niya,” Galang said after scoring nine points in the deciding Game 3 on Saturday. “Sa mga coaches na walang sawang nag-tiyaga sa amin, teammates ko na tinulungan ako para umangat.”
Another factor that helped Galang bounce back from her injury was adversity itself.
Being sidelined in a Finals series against Ateneo was worse than any physical pain Galang had to endure and she used the painful memories to make herself better for Season 78.
“Ginawa ko siyang motivation para umangat ako, di ko siya iniisip madalas,” Galang said. “Sa start, ginawa kong motivation then afterwards kinalumutan ko na lang.”