1 week Ago
From a rookie sensation last year, Gia Maquilang now fulfills a big sister role for Colegio de San Juan de Letran Lady Knights. And it's a job the sophomore star has fully accepted. "Oo matagal ko na na-embrace kasi parang pagdating pa lang nila naisip ko na ‘ay magiging ate na ako’," Maquilang, the NCAA Season 99 Freshman of the Year, told GMA News Online on Tuesday.
"Hindi na kami ‘yung mga babies sa team. Dapat ‘yung mindset ko, ‘yung attitude ko, ‘yung behavior ko dapat ate talaga." [Yes, I've embraced it for a while now.
Because when they first arrived, I already thought to myself, 'oh, I'm going to be an ate '...
We are not the babies of the team anymore. My mindset, my attitude, my behavior, should be of a big sister now.] Letran has a deep pool of rising rookies led by Vanessa Sarie, the league's current top scorer and one of the key cogs in Lady Knights' stellar run so far as they zoomed to a 10-2 win-loss card.
'The Lady Knights have also unleashed Nicen Colendra, who has been the spark off the bench in their last two games against Perpetual and EAC. Aside from them, Letran also has other first-year stars in setter Princes Tumaya as well as Edcynth Brago, Marbey Enverga, and Joralyn Panangin, giving coach Oliver Almadro a deeper bench. With a relatively young core, Maquilang understands the need to step up and lead by example as the Lady Knights shoot for another finals appearance and, hopefully, the title.
"Need kong mag-step up kasi ‘yung teammates kasi puro rookies. Dapat ‘yung performance ko aangat din para madala ko ‘yung mga rookies and ‘yung team namin," Maquilang added. "Need ko mag-step up mula sa preparations, sa mindset, sa galaw ko kasi nakukuha ‘yun ng mga rookies.
" [I need to step up because my teammates are a lot of rookies. My performance needs to elevate so I can carry the rookies and our team..
. I need to step up from the preparations, the mindset, the way I act, because the rookies will absorb that.] —JMB, GMA Integrated News.
