MANILA, Philippines—For most of her stay in Far Easter University, Jerrili Malabanan has made her game do much of the talking.
That all changed, though, when head coach George Pascua named Malabanan captain at the start of the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament.
Even without longtime star Bernadeth Pons, the Lady Tamaraws were still able to get back to the Final Four under Malabanan’s captaincy, which is something she can call her legacy.
“I think in my last year we learned how to play with heart, you can see in our team that we played with a lot of heart,” said the graduating Malabanan Wednesday.
Malabanan played her last game in green and gold after the Lady Tamaraws crashed out of the Final Four with a 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-14 loss to Ateneo in the rubber match of the Final Four.
Despite the early exit, this was no losing season for FEU, which showed tremendous grit throughout the season–a perfect example of which is its impressive 7-1 record in grueling five-set matches.
And that show of courage is something Malabanan and the Lady Tamaraws are proud of.
“We played a lot of five-set games so I think that’s something that all of us learned this season and that is to keep playing until the end,” said Malabanan who had 18 points in her final UAAP game.