The Role of the Televised Collegiate Leagues to the Growing Popularity of Philippine Women's Volleyball

Before she was the Philippine SuperLiga (PSL) ambassador in 2018, before her already decorated career in the PSL and in the international scene, Rachel Anne Daquis first graced women's volleyball in the Philippines by playing for the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in the University Athletic Association (UAAP)  where her jersey number 3 ended up being retired by the school- a testament to how Daquis has changed volleyball not just in the collegiate level but also in the professional level. Daquis won a UAAP championship in Season 70 when FEU took down the Adamson Lady Falcons in the championship round. But without the collegiate career that she had in the UAAP, would volleyball stars of today such as Daquis would be in the popular status that they are right now?

Would the women's volleyball in the Philippines be as popular as it is right now if collegiate volleyball didn't get televised?  

It's hard to imagine. 

While volleyball has been in the country since it was first introduced to Filipinos by Elwood S. Wood of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), it never gained popularity in the same manner basketball did. Until recently. All thanks to the popularity of collegiate volleyball and the exposure it has been getting from being televised not just in the country but also in other countries. 

One story that pundits believed helped brew the popularity of women's volleyball and that is the story of the Ateneo Lady Eagles who then was coached by Roger Gorayeb who took over at the start of Season 71 of the UAAP. And unlike their counterparts in the men's basketball scene, the Ateneo women's volleyball program was undergoing rebuilding process at the time and that was the time when Alyssa Valdez's rise to become a volleyball phenom was starting. While Ateneo managed to enter the Final Four from Season 72 until Season 75,  it was in Season 74 and Season 75 when the Lady Eagles had made it back to the UAAP Finals only to lose to the De La Salle Lady Spikes of Coach Ramil De Jesus in booth occasions.   

For Season 76, Ateneo decided to replace Goryeb with Anusorn "Tai" Bundit- a Thai coach who injected"Heart strong" mentality into the Lady Eagles and while La Salle completed a 14-0 sweep of the two-round eliminations, "Heart strong" which means "Tibay ng loob" when translated to Filipino, has become the battle cry of Ateneo as it needed to soar against the Adamson Lady Falcons in the one-and-done playoff game in the Final Four before beating the National University Lady Bulldogs who were also armed with the twice-to-beat-advantage by being the second-seeded team entering the step-ladder playoffs.  

Facing a La Salle team for the third time in a row, the Lady Eagles needed to overcome a thrice-to-win disadvantage and that's exactly what happened as Ateneo, who lost Game Two, went on to win which was then the team's first UAAP women's volleyball championship in 37 years. An underdog who took down a mighty La Salle squad. And when you think about it, we Filipinos love to root for the underdogs.  

That success story by the Lady Eagles, coupled by the fact that UAAP volleyball was being covered by Studio 23 at that time, helped in boosting the popularity of women's volleyball and as mentioned by PSL President Ian Laurel in last Saturday's podcast of "Usapang PSL", it was during college when volleyball players are getting the biggest amount of exposure that they can get pointing the fact that the UAAP, as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are being televised. 

While professional leagues such as the PSL now serve as a platform for volleyball to continue their career professionally, UAAP and NCAA women's volleyball being televised by ABS CBN's designated sports channel has helped not only in boosting volleyball in general in the country but also, it provided the spotlights that aspiring volleyball stars needed for them to be able to get to the next level. 

And while Alyssa Valdez's Lady Eagles reignited the fire that helped women's volleyball became the sports it is right now, Rachel Anne Daquis and the rest of the volleyball players in the pre-Valdez era laid down the foundation and we all saw it grow. We all witnessed how the collegiate volleyball became a stepping stone for future volleyball legends. 

Photo is from Volleyverse