Spiking One Last Time: Veteran Volleyball Coach Ronald Dulay Passes Away

There are some battles that you can win while there are some that you can not. That's just the reality we all have to face in life. For veteran volleyball coach in Ronald Dulay, his long battle against a bone marrow disease has reached its end at Dulay succumbed to the disease last night. He was 48.

Volleyball fans in the country know Dulay as one of the most experienced coaches, having coached the De La Salle Green Spikers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) where he was able to guide the green and white squad to two championships in Season 64 and 66. He was also tapped by the women's team of the University of the Philippines for three seasons (Season 70 to 72) where he finished with an 11-31 win-loss card. La Salle brought Dulay back into the fold for Season 78 but after compiling a 4-8 record, he was let go after one season. And before he was a coach, Ronald Dulay also played collegiate volleyball for the Far Eastern University whom Dulay was able to win three championships for. 

In the Philippine SuperLiga (PSL), he used to be a part of the coaching staff of Foton before getting tapped as the head tactician of the PLDT Home Fibr Hitters which was then known as the Smart Prepaid Giga Hitters. Dulay's stint with Smart was a forgettable one as the team went winless during the 2018 PSL Grand Prix. And prior to his death, he was still a part of the coaching staff pf the Marinerang Pilipina Lady Skippers who saw Dulay still strong even during the ongoing pandemic.

In a statement, Jed Montero, the team manager of the Lady Skippers and a former player of Dulay during the former's collegiate and PSL career, described his former coach as "a great coach, friend, and a father to many in the volleyball" while also adding that Dulay will be a big loss not just to the team especially in the upcoming All-Filipino conference of the PSL this year but more importantly, to the volleyball community as a whole. 

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