Passing a heart examination

THE SHAKEY’S V-League has continued to draw the volleyball faithful, even without its perennial powers University of Santo Tomas and La Salle.   The insertion of seemingly unexpected guest players in some lineups has sustained interest in the seven-year-old, school-based tournament.   Take for example explosive UST scorer Mary Jean Balse, who was added to an already agile and athletic Lyceum roster, or veteran all around player Michele Carolino who was brought into an Far Eastern U team that’s trying to reinvent itself.   What’s more, the league has never waned in college spirit. The games are competitive, regardless of the edge of teams like San Sebastian and Adamson in personnel and experience.   Also, the nature of the game adds to the mix as the point is to keep the ball in play while forcing the other side to bungle it or be out of position. This excites the audience that has students in big batches or small groups along with the usual volleyball crowd of family, friends and significant others.   Take for instance that College of St. Benilde-Ateneo game played on a rainy Thursday last week. The Lady Blazers were in the cellar, winless in five previous starts and hoping to win their last two games for a sliver of a chance to make it to the quarterfinal round.   Ateneo was having a better season with three wins and looking every inch a qualifier with a fiery Thai import named Suraswadee Boonyuen and a lineup that was earning more experience playing together.   But here’s the thrill of this game. The dire straits that the Lady Blazers were in didn’t seem to matter and they played with fire in one of their best games ever.   On this day, St. Benilde displayed the passion and heart that coach Thelma Barina-Rojas had been asking for in previous games. A member of the 1993 SEA Games Philippine women’s team that won the volleyball gold, Barina-Rojas reiterated the lesson on heart, regardless of the score, all season long.   And the team was now responding to those teachings. Veteran Giza Yumang fired 23 points and had a game face that said she did not want to lose that day.   The rest of the team responded with fire as well. Setter Ren Agero created 45 scoring opportunities for Yumang and Cindy Optana who scored 16.   The Lady Blazers oozed confidence and poise that they even managed to sneak in a laugh in a tense timeout in the fifth set.  In the huddle, Barina-Rojas yelled out loudly for Agero who was just to her left.   It was like calling for your child who’s actually beside you and you’re hollering at the top of your voice. Barina-Rojas and her team laughed at the silliness of it all.   If you can keep your cool and humor in the heat of battle, then you’re probably more focused than most people would like to think.   St. Benilde lost the game in the fifth, 17-15, but Barina-Rojas rose and smiled with the satisfaction of a teacher who had just seen her students grapple with a tough exam and emerge with a reasonable grade.   They may have lost the battle and were still winless but they finally scored big points in the heart and passion parts of the test.