University of Santo Tomas head coach Kungfu Reyes has mixed emotions about the decision of top hitter Eya Laure and reliable middle blocker Imee Hernandez to hang their Tigresses jerseys to turn pro.
The two veterans announced in a lengthy and heartfelt Instagram post on Thursday night that they will forgo their last playing eligibility for UST in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines to pursue professional careers in the Premier Volleyball League.
Reyes, who steered the Tigresses to a fourth-place finish in the recently concluded UAAP Season 85, shared that the team tried their best to convince Laure and Hernandez to stay for one last dance but ultimately accepted their decision to spread their wings in a bigger and grander stage.
“We had a series of meetings to talk about it about two weeks after the UAAP,” Reyes told Daily Tribune on Friday.
“We thought we were ready (for their departure) but you can never really be ready for that,” he added.
“When they gave their farewell message to the (UST) community, that’s the only time that it suddenly sank in that we’re losing a huge part of the team’s core.”
Reyes expressed pride seeing his wards advance to a bigger volleyball stage but at the same time knows the big challenge that awaits the Tigresses next year.
UST will be on a rebuilding stage in Season 86 as other veterans Milena Alessandrini, KC Galdones and Maji Mangulabnan have also bid goodbye to the squad.
“Happy and sad at the same time. Happy because they have decided on their own about their future. Sad because we’re losing veterans leaving us with a young team,” Reyes said.
Laure in her farewell announcement bared that it took her some time to make a decision and it was a hard and painful one.
“Kaya siguro (That’s why) up until the last minute, I wanted to find a way to play for one more year,” Laure said in her post. “Para akong nakikipag-break sa libu-libong tao (It is as if I am breaking up with thousands of people) and my heart is shattering into pieces. Ang sakit at ang hirap magpaalam (It’s painful and it’s hard to say goodbye).”
Laure, who won Rookie of the Year in 2019 as she led the Tigresses to a runner-up finish in Season 81, spent 12 years playing for UST.
She helped the Junior Tigresses win the girls’ title back in 2013 but came up short of ending UST’s 13-year title drought in the women’s division.
“Patawad dahil hindi ko naibigay yung championship na deserve nyo (I am sorry for not winning a championship that you deserve),” Laure said.
Her post came just hours after Imee released hers.
“UST community, you have been with me through all the battles and I am forever grateful,” Hernandez wrote.
“Now that I am done with my studies, with you by my side, I am more than ready to face the bigger challenges that lie ahead as I continue to pursue my passion for the game of volleyball on a grander stage and under brighter lights. I have decided to go professional.”
Laure and Hernandez’s official statement, coincidentally, came within hours after PVL club Chery Tiggo put up a teaser of new players it recruited for the mid-season Invitational Conference scheduled to start on 29 June.
Sources said that the two players are heading to the Crossovers. The club, however, is yet to formally name its newest recruits.
Playing for Chery Tiggo is nothing new for Laure as she already suited up for the squad in the defunct Philippine Superliga back in 2019.
With big shoes to fill, Reyes is banking on youngbloods Regina Jurado, Xyza Gula, Renee Penafiel, Athena Abbu and Pierre Abellana to carry the scoring load for the Tigresses next season with reigning Best Libero Detdet Pepito playing the role of leader.
