Sophia Senoron finally gets her shot at the NCAA
Sophia Senoron is a true achiever. She was a varsity debater at San Beda University, an actress, and a beauty queen, having won Miss Multinational in India in 2018 to become the pageant's first-ever winner.
One dream though eluded the multi-talented Kapuso star.
A self-confessed sports fan and an avid follower of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Sophia wanted to be a courtside reporter for the San Bed University Red Lions.
“I tried out to be courtside reporter. I tried out two to three times and hindi ako nakuha,” Sophia animatedly recalled during a virtual chat with the media.
“I was never approved to become the courtside reporter and it definitely broke my heart because I was always at the games, number one fan talaga ako of the athletes, and hindi ako nakuha.”
Sophia eventually let go of that dream as she focused more on her showbiz career and started exploring other opportunities.
So it came as a total shock when she was asked to co-host a new sports program dedicated to the country's premier collegiate athletic league.
“Paano 'yon nangyari? It was like destiny talaga,” an excited Sophia said.
She was even more thrilled when she learned that she will be sharing hosting duties with seasoned sportscaster Martin Javier.
Sophia is familiar with Martin's work as an NCAA analyst. She even follows him on social media.
“Hindi ko talaga naintindihan kung paano siya nangyari but it all felt like it was part of an elaborate play of God na ito na dapat 'yong nangyayari, so ito 'yong nangyari.”
Together, Sophia and Martin will be hosting Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96, which will serve as a primer in preparation for the league's projected opening in June.
The 21-episode sports program will debut this coming Sunday, May 23.
It all turned out for the better for Sophia, who, instead of quickly reporting from the bench in between timeouts, will now be covering a wide array of topics about the league and its players seven days a week.
Sophia loves the concept of the program as it allows fans to get to know the NCAA players on a more personal level.
Through the show, fans and viewers will learn about the journey, struggles, and triumphs of the student-athletes and NCAA legends.
Fans will also get a glimpse of how the players and even the coaches continue to work hard, train, and stay motivated throughout the long offseason.
“They are student-athletes, they worked so, so hard tapos biglang wala [because of the pandemic]. It's like what happened to all of us, lahat tayo nahihirapan and lahat tayo naghihintay ng sign,” said Sophia.
“Tapos ngayon matutuloy na, may magagawa na tayo. They are still continuing their training and they're just waiting for a chance to go out there.
And not only matutuloy ang NCAA, but we're going to give them the attention and recognition that they deserve.”
Get to know more about Sophia in this gallery.
