Tigers’ out-of-town woes leave Tigresses worried; coach hopes for best

UST women’s volleyball coach Kung Fu Reyes. INQUIRER PHOTO

The University of Santo Tomas (UST) women’s volleyball team is also feeling the backlash of the raging “bubble” controversy centered on the school’s men’s basketball squad.

Scattered in their respective homes and only connected via online for the past five months, head coach Kungfu Reyes said the team’s morale is down because of what it has been reading all over.

But he sees a light at the end of the tunnel: That the investigation could produce airtight and specific policies on athletes training in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reyes said he hopes that authorities could come up with more detailed guidelines regarding sports and training without throwing away basic health and safety concerns.

Leagues abroad have managed to stage sports competitions, NBA, UEFA and PGA, among others, as they devised rules instead of imposing blanket prohibition of sports activities.

“We have low morale with what’s happening at UST,” Reyes told the Inquirer. “The players are affected.”

UST’s athletic director Fr. Jamel Abogado has stepped down on Wednesday over the controversy regarding breach of protocol allegedly committed by the men’s basketball team.

“He (Abogado) was such big support to the morale and welfare of the athletes and coaches,” Reyes added.

“It’s untimely, but I think this will end and we will overcome everything,” he added.

The Tigresses are familiar to such adversity. Last year, they emerged from the loss of top spiker Milena Alessandrini to a knee injury at the start of UAAP Season 81.

They defied the odds and barged into the Final Four where they pulled the rug from under the formidable La Salle Lady Spikers to make the finals.