USPF captain keeping composure amid trial

Cuerbo

IT MIGHT not look like it, but University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) team captain Ana Marie Cuerbo has had a pretty tough year.

And a Game 3 victory in her last game in the league this Saturday against the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma in the F2 Logistics Cesafi girls’ volleyball finals would somehow ease out the pain she has been going through.

The Grade 12 student had everything going her way at the start of the year as she helped USPF bag the Private Schools Athletic Association (Prisaa) national beach volleyball title last April before claiming the middle-blocker plums in the Oscar Jereza Jr. Volleyball Cup and the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball League last June.

However, everything went on a heartbreaking turn last Aug. 14 as Cuerbo learned that her father passed away due to a heart attack.

Painful as it is, Cuerbo, the eldest of six siblings, had to keep her composure for herself, her family and her team.

“Since I’m the eldest, my mom is counting on me. At the same time, I have to do my best both in school and in volleyball,” she said. “As a team captain, I have to set a good example because my teammates look up to me. So I made my father my inspiration to play in this year’s Cesafi tournament,” she said.

As she prepares for her final game in a Baby Panthers uniform, Cuerbo, who considers the team her second family, is nothing but grateful to USPF, which gave her a chance to study and play for the team even though she had no previous experience in the sport.

She started playing for the Baby Panthers since her first year in high school and has been with the squad for five years.

“That’s why I stayed with USPF even though we’re not that good before because this is where I learned how to play, and this is the school who accepted me even though I had no experience in volleyball,” she said.

Asked on what to expect from her this Saturday, Cuerbo said that she will do everything she can to help steer the Baby Panthers to its first championship since 2010.

Whether she can hoist up the trophy or not, Cuerbo may be considered a winner already as she made it through the toughest time of her life and has become a stronger woman ready for the challenges that may come ahead.