PROVINCIAL high school teams are set to unveil their own female superheroes as the Rebisco Volleyball League (RVL) awaits the arrival of the three Mindanao regional champions that have advanced to the National Finals which will be held in Mandaluyong from November 22 to 25.
Sto. Niño National High School, Corpus Christi School, and Notre Dame of Dadiangas University emerged as the last teams standing in their respective regional finals of the biggest 18-and-under women’s volleyball tournament in the country that drew 480 schools from 10 regions this year.
Corpus Christi School of Cagayan de Oro City swept Bukidnon National High School, 25-21, 25-14, for the Northern Mindanao championship, while General Santos City’s Notre Dame of Dadiangas University overcame St. Alexius College, 25-18, 26-28, 25-23, for the Central Mindanao title of this nationwide grassroots development tournament that’s now on its sixth year.
But the spotlight is on Sto. Niño National High School, a public school team made up of indigenous people from Talaingod, Davao del Norte. Three of the team’s 12 players are from the Ata Manobo tribe.
Dubbed the Lady Wakanda, the team is representing Southern Mindanao for the second straight year after ruling their regional cluster, initially topping the six-team pre-qualifying leg, before edging seven more squads in the regional finals.
The ethnic team capped its regional campaign with a hard-fought 25–19, 22-25, 27-25 win against Ateneo de Davao in the title match last month at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex in Tagum City.
The Lady Wakanda, a self-proclaimed moniker inspired by the brave people of the fictional ethnic African country – home of Marvel superhero Black Panther –showed their own version of resilience in the finale where they fought back after being on the verge of defeat in the deciding third set, 22-24.
“Tulad (ng Wakanda people), yung team namin also represents the strength of the Lumads from the Lumad capital of Davao del Norte,” Sto. Niño coach Eric Fernandez said. “Matatapang at malalakas kasi mga taga-Wakanda at ‘yun din ang mantra na gusto naming taglayin ng team.”
And The Lady Wakanda did it despite their size disadvantage – their tallest player is only 5’5” and smallest at 4’11”, according to Fernandez, making up for it with their athleticism and chemistry in the regional title game.
RVL tournament director Johanz Buenvenida witnessed the dramatic ending to the title game as he estimated Ateneo’s average height to be 5’6” and attested to how Sto. Niño stood taller.
“Dun nakita yung sinasabing big heart talaga,” Buenvenida said. “They may be lacking really in height, grabe as in talagang ang laki ng difference, ang liliit talaga nila. But yung vertical jump nila tsaka yung cohesiveness as a team are something to be proud of.”
Sto. Niño has almost two more months to prepare before the National Finals where it will try to surpass its seventh-place finish last year. The Southern Mindanao champion is back in the thick of training, even holding twice-a-day practices on Saturdays when the student-volleybelles are off from school.
Seven more teams are joining the three Mindanao champions in the National Finals next month. The three Visayas regional champions have also been declared: Linao National High School (Eastern), University of San Jose Recoletos (Central), and RVL defending champion
Bacolod Tay Tung (Western), while the Luzon school spikers are still fighting for four spots on the 10-team National Finals cast.
The National Finals preliminary and semifinal round matches will continue to follow best-of-three sets, while the bronze and gold-medal games will be played in best-of-five sets.
“Dapat hindi kami matakot kahit ganito lang ang aming height,” said Sto. Niño open spiker Angel Pasaol, one of the three players with Ata Manobo blood. “Lalaban talaga kami at ipapakita namin ang aming best. I-prove namin na kaming taga-Mindanao ay hindi basta-basta.”
“Gusto namin makilala ang aming tribo,” added setter Jemiemah Lintuan, another Ata Manobo tribe member.
And the RVL won’t just put provincial teams on the map, it’s also a breeding ground for future college volleyball recruits.
Cara Dayanan, one of Sto Niño’s key players last year, received an offer to play for Emilio Aguinaldo College and is set to suit up for the Lady Generals in the NCAA.
That’s also the goal for Pasaol and Lintuan, among others.
Pasaol is a graduating Grade 12 student whose dad is a farmer of bananas, corn, and vegetables, while her mom is an inspector of convenience store factories in Davao. Angel looks up to Creamline superstar Alyssa Valdez.
Lintuan, on the other hand, is in Grade 8 and one of the team’s youngest players. Her dad is a Datu tribal mediator, while her mom is a housewife. Jemiemah idolizes another Cool Smashers star in Tots Carlos as well as former Creamline setter and current Japan V League import Jia de Guzman.
“Malaking avenue talaga yung RVL para makita yung talent at skills ng mga bata,” said the 30-year-old Fernandez, himself a product of the Rebisco Volleyball Academy for coaches, a seminar conducted by veteran mentors to impart their knowledge to local counterparts.
RVL commissioner Ysay Marasigan wants the 18-and-under women’s league to be in the same conversation as the Palarong Pambansa among the biggest grassroots volleyball programs in the Philippines.
“Gusto ko for RVL, maging isa pang tournament together with Palaro na makaka-join talaga lahat ng teams, all the top teams in a certain city magsama-sama sila to compete,” said Marasigan, an Ateneo product who remains an active player as the current Criss Cross King Crunchers team captain.
