EAC Generals’ Axel Doromal during an NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball game. –NCAA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Back in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament, Axel Doromal was one of the league’s leading scorers with the Arellano side.
However, after that stellar season, Doromal switched lanes and took his talents to Emilio Aguinaldo Colleg, where he would have to serve a year of residency.
Little did people know just how tumultuous and borderline heartbreaking–almost literally–that year was.
READ: NCAA: Axel Doromal leaves Arellano to find ‘better opportunities’
“When I was training, I slowly realized that I get dizzy fast and I also get tired a lot more so I went to Manila Med for a check-up,” said Doromal in Filipino in an exclusive interview with Inquirer Sports.
“They saw that I had an enlarged heart. I asked if it was serious and they said it was, for athletes. However, with me, it didn’t feel normal.”
The diagnosis had left the former Chiefs standout affected both physically and emotionally.
Instead of working on his craft and playing for experience during the offseason, Doromal’s action was limited from his training with EAC to his sideline action for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the MPBL.
The expectations for the star guard was halted. From someone who averaged 15.56 points per game under coach Cholo Martin for Arellano, Doromal was left wondering whether he could still play the game he loves.
READ: NCAA: Arellano vows strong comeback after injuries derail Final Four dreams
It also didn’t help that Doromal has a fear of enclosed spaces, making undergoing tests–particularly the MRI procedure–harder for the player for the the doctors to make a conclusive diagnosis.
Doromal even said that he had two aborted MRI procedures out of his fear.
“A lot of people were telling me that it may be something serious or I might collapse but I can handle it, so far,” said Doromal.
By some miracle—and maybe even some wishful thinking—Doromal said he felt “better” before he tried to undergo a third MRI exam.
From being aasily tired in practice, he got his strides back during EAC’s practices to fully get cleared for takeoff for NCAA Season 100.
“I can really go but they’ve been telling me that when I get tired, I should tell them because there might be something,” he said. “I push through with it. It’s like I don’t even get tired as long as I get to play.”
Quite literally, Doromal is playing his heart out for the Generals now.
Now, Doromal is trying to make the most of the opportunities he’s given now with the Generals.
With a 3-4 card in the later stages of the Season 100’s first round, the chances for EAC’s Final Four appearances are blurry but like Doromal, the Generals look to keep fighting until they get the job done with all heart.