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UP Fighting Maroons’ head coach Oliver Almadro.

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Romwel Anzures

ABS-CBN News

<div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1714378162640IMG_3656.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">UP Fighting Maroons’ head coach Oliver Almadro. <em>Photo from UAAP Media.</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The UP Fighting Maroons ended the UAAP Season 86 women&#x27;s volleyball tournament in last place.</p><p>The Katipunan-based spikers finished with a 1-13 record this year as they concluded the season with a four-set defeat against Casiey Dongallo and the UE Lady Warriors last Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/4/27/casiey-dongallo-focuses-on-silver-linings-of-ue-s-campaign-2046">READ: Casiey Dongallo looking at silver linings of UE&#x27;s Season 86 campaign </a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/4/27/uaap-dongallo-ue-outlast-up-in-season-86-ender-1641">READ: Dongallo, UE outlast UP in Season 86 ender</a></div><p>Despite this, UP head coach Oliver Almadro remained upbeat about their performance in Season 86.</p><p>&quot;As I was telling in the dugout, all I can say is gratefulness,&quot; Coach O told reporters on Saturday during the postgame presser at the Big Dome.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m really grateful for the UP community, grateful for the players, for the sponsors, the OASD, and coach Bo Perasol. All gratefulness. I&#x27;ve never known that I&#x27;ll land on the Maroon side of Katipunan. I thought tatanda na ako sa blue side, hindi pala. The Lord has a different mission for every one of us,&quot; he said.</p><p>After his stint with the Ateneo Blue Eagles — a team that he steered to a UAAP women&#x27;s volleyball championship in Season 81 — Almadro was tasked to take charge of the women&#x27;s volleyball team of UP and help them end their years-long Final Four drought.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/27/23/oliver-almadro-staying-put-as-ateneo-coach-for-now">READ: Oliver Almadro &#x27;staying put&#x27; as Ateneo coach for now</a></div><p>And while he is now donning new colors, Coach Oliver bared that his learnings from Ateneo are still helping him to date. </p><p>&quot;I am thankful for Ateneo, the blue side of Katipunan, for giving me, making me who I am now,&quot; said the champion mentor. </p><p>&quot;And I want to say this also to the Ateneo community, those who supported me, marami akong natutunan doon. And I&#x27;m bringing that excellence to the other side, but this time, it&#x27;s a mission and it&#x27;s a challenge. Kasi alam naman natin na for the longest time, wala si UP sa pwesto na we want it to be. But what&#x27;s important is we are going there because of the support and the promise of the UP community,&quot; he continued.</p><p>UP showed glimpses of its potential throughout Season 86, with State U even managing to go head-to-head with teams such as the De La Salle Lady Spikers and the FEU Lady Tamaraws, but Almadro is aware that completely turning around the Fighting Maroons&#x27; program is a tall order.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1714378241581IMG_3652.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The UP Fighting Maroons against the UE Lady Warriors. <em>Photo from UAAP Media.</em></span></span></span></span></div><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a challenge and a mission for all of us,&quot; he said of his team who are still in search of their first postseason appearance since Season 78.</p><p>&quot;Not only me, but for the players, for us to change the story. Sabi ko nga kanina, sa three goals in life na sinasabi ko sa kanila, if we never step forward, we will be at the same place and time. Right now, we&#x27;re at the same place, but it&#x27;s not for us.&quot; </p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m always saying that results are not always better than performance. Individually, as I see the statistics of my players in my first season to their skills in the last season, most of them improved in their percentage in blocks, in attacks, in receives, in digs,&quot; he continued.</p><p>Aside from these individual improvements, UP is also looking to bank on its recruits for Season 87, two of them being former NU Lady Bullpups Kianne Olango and Yesha Noceja.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/2/27/uaap-nuns-kianne-olango-yesha-noceja-commit-to-up-1745">READ: NUNS&#x27; Kianne Olango, Yesha Noceja commit to UP</a></div><p>&quot;It&#x27;s &#x27;zero year&#x27;. There&#x27;s a promise from the UP community and the sponsors to support the future of the UP volleyball team, and UP volleyball program.&quot;</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1714378281821IMG_3654.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The UP Fighting Maroons. <em>Photo from UAAP Media.</em></span></span></span></div><p>That is why for Coach O, the best is yet to come for the Fighting Maroons. </p><p>&quot;We may not be there at the top yet, but still, it&#x27;s nowhere to go but up for the UP volleyball team,&quot; he vowed.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3024896"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script>

<p>The UP Fighting Maroons ended the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament as the last-placed team.</p>

The UP Fighting Maroons ended the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament as the last-placed team.

UAAP: Nowhere to go but up for UP after abysmal Season 86 campaign, says Coach O

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UAAP: Nowhere to go but up for UP after abysmal Season 86 campaign, says Coach O

Romwel Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 29, 2024 04:55 PM PHT

|

Updated April 29, 2024 06:55 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

volleyball

UAAP

UAAP Season 86

UAAP volleyball

UP Fighting Maroons

Oliver Almadro

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