De Jesus thankful to have seen Macandili, Baron, Dy grow into ‘volleyball heroes’

Majoy Baron, Dawn Macandili and Kim Kiana Dy take their final bow as Lady Spikers. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.NET

Before the MVP awards and championships won at La Salle, all Dawn Macandili, Mary Joy Baron and Kim Kianna Dy had were undiscovered potential.

“Honestly, I knew I’ll have hard time with them not because of their attitude but from teaching them,” DLSU head coach Ramil De Jesus told reporters in Filipino. “It’s rare for me to get a player who is very talented right away. [Macandili, Dy and Baron] are just very hardworking players that’s why they were able to attain the level they’re in right now.”

“I came about Dawn as just hardworking. Kianna was just athletic then, Joy had height.” De Jesus recalled.

They’ve come a long way since.

Macandili turned into the country’s best libero and was named UAAP Season 80 Finals MVP, Dy was also a Finals MVP two seasons ago while Baron, a prolific blocker, had an MVP season a year ago.

The star-studded trio won three titles in five finals appearances throughout their celebrated collegiate career that they punctuated by winning another championship after sweeping Far Eastern University on Wednesday night.

“I’m thankful that they’ve reached this point. They’re now among the heroes of volleyball now,” De Jesus said.

They all had De Jesus to thank for their success.

“Of course, I’m grateful that he gave us a chance to show our potential and he was very patient with us,” Dy said. “Coming to La Salle, we knew that there were a lot of talented players so we really worked hard and if you work hard coach will be pleased and he’s going to give you attention.”

Baron describes De Jesus as the kind of coach who never settles and that’s also the reason why the Lady Spikers aim to outdo themselves every time they hit the court.

“Coach doesn’t like to praise that much so what we learned from him is to always look to improve and never settle with what we have and that’s the key to the success that we have now,” Baron said in Filipino. “He showed us patience and he nurtured us that way that’s why we never get contented.”