‘She was everything to us’: UP dedicates win to late volleyball alumni head

Diana Carlos shows the black band they wore as tribute to Lourdes Guerrero.

University of the Philippines’ sweep of National University didn’t just make an impact in the standings in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament, but it also became some sort of closure for the Lady Maroons.

The Lady Maroons improved to a 4-8 record to stay in the hunt for a Final Four spot and they did while wearing black bands around their left arms.

Captain Ayel Estrañero said the black band signified their mourning for UP Lady Maroons patron Lourdes Guerrero, who passed away on March 27 due to aneurysm.

“When no one was actually there to support us, when no one wanted to sponsor the team, Tita Lourdes gave us the money from her own pocket to support us,” said Estrañero after their 25-18, 25-22, 25-20, win Wednesday.

“Our game today was really dedicated to her.”

Guerrero is a former president of the UP women’s alumni volleyball team and became an integral part of the Lady Maroons’ support group that looked for sponsors to fund the team.

Estrañero added that Guerrero went into a coma in 2016 and that the family waited until Guerrero herself succumbed to the disease instead of pulling the plug.

“She’s really the backbone of everything,” said Estrañero of Guerrero, whose last interaction with the Lady Maroons was with the batch of Isa Molde and Diana Carlos. “Before, if we didn’t have a service vehicle she would drive us in her own car.”

“Tita Lourdes wasn’t just a sponsor, she was like a mother to us, a sister, a friend. She was everything to us.”