Coach Roger Gorayeb is well-known for his winning ways, as a multi-titled volleyball coach and one of the most successful in the country.
However, that hasn't translated to a lot of success, at least for this season, for the women's team of San Sebastian College-Recoletos, which he handles.
The team started the NCAA Season 98 women's volleyball tournament with a six-game losing skid. That drought was broken on Saturday after they outlasted Jose Rizal University, 17-25, 28-26, 14-25, 25-16, 15-9.
For Gorayeb, what the team did in the match was what they should have been doing all along.
"Sabi ko nga sa kanila, we should have done this a long time ago. Hindi 'yung ganito na lang naglalaro na lang kami to maintain our pride," Gorayeb said after their win. "Biruin mo 0-6, sabi ko in 36 years na pagko-coach hindi ko naranasan 'yan."
("I told them, we should have done this a long time ago. Not like this when we are just playing for pride. It's 0-6, I told them I haven't experienced that in my 36 years of coaching.")
Gorayeb, however, admitted that the players' lack of experience and the team's limited roster, which only consists of 10 players, contributed to their struggles.
"Ang hirap eh, sobrang bata. Just imagine, 10 lang player ko, dalawa [doon] libero. Dun sa natitira, apat pa 'yung freshmen, ilan na lang naittira? Apat na lang 'yung may experience last year," he said.
("It's hard, they're young. Imagine having 10 players, two of them are libero. In the remaining, four are freshmen, how many will be left? Only four of them have experience from last year.")
However, Gorayeb said they will not make excuses as his players have talent.
"We cannot make excuses. May laro naman sila, pinapabayaan lang nila. Siguro natuto na sila sa mga mali nila dati," he added.
("They have the talent, they just let the game slide. Perhaps they have learned from their mistakes before.")
With the lack of experience comes the errors committed by the Lady Stags during games, which also contribute to their losses.
Just for their match against JRU, the Lady Stags had a total of 25 errors.
"Mahirap eh, maski sa ibang laro namin, natatalo kami sa error namin eh, hindi sa lakas ng kalaban. Malakas na nga 'yung kalaban, magbibigay pa kami ng error points sa kalaban," the multi-titled San Sebastian coach said.
"Eh anong mangyayari sa amin, lamang na nga kami palagi 23-20, tumitigil kami sa 23. Ewan ko kung anong sumpa meron sa 23 na 'yan," Gorayeb said in jest.
("It's hard, even in our other games, we lose by error, not by the opponent's strength. They are already strong yet we still give error points to our opponents... What will happen to us? We're up at 23 but we stop there, I don't know what's with 23.)
"Sabi ko nga, nag-retire na si [Michael] Jordan, huwag nang pasikatin pa. Ano bang meron sa 23 na 'yan lagi tayo tumitigil diyan?"
("I told them that Jordan has already retired, so don't make him famous again. What's with 23 that we stop there?")
Despite this, Gorayeb is optimistic that his wards will have at least a fighting chance in the near future.
"May mga darating akong players, meron na akong recruit, hinihintay ko lang. Mga Grade 12 ngayon eh."
"Marami na akong choice, hindi katulad ngayon 10 lang player ko wala akong pamalit," said Gorayeb. "Next year makakapag-shuffle na 'ko."
("I have upcoming recruits, I'm just waiting for them since they are in Grade 12... I will have more choices, not like now where I am limited to 10 players. I can shuffle the players next year.")
And as the season nears its closing, Gorayeb just wants to end its campaign on a good note.
"Gusto naming manalo. Kaya naman namin eh. Huwag lang sila panghihinaan ng loob."
(We want to win. We can do it. They just need to be strong.)
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
