Bustrillo | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — If Jaybie Mantilla of the Cebu Sharks-Casino Ethyl Alcohol, will be battling it out on the basketball court, another player from Cebu will be playing for the University of the Philippines for their women’s volleyball team.
Stephanie Bustrillo, 18, from Medellin town will be representing Cebu in the volleyball scene as one of the University of the Philippines’ Lady Maroons this coming UAAP season.
The 18-year-old told CDN Digital that playing for one of the big leagues is her gift to her grandparents Fernando Bustrillo, 62 and Lilia Bustrillo, 60, who were the ones who took care of her since she was young.
“Yes, sa ilaha ko nagpuyo since birth. I came from a broken family, that’s why I want to give this achievement to them,” said Bustrillo.
It was last year when Bustrillo received the news that would further her volleyball career.
She said spectators from the University of the Philippines saw the potential in her when they saw her play in one of the regional tournaments in Dumaguete City last year.
“Nag ka interest man sila nako kay murag naay nag ingun pud nila so mao to ila kong gi tan aw ug gikuha. Na shock ko at the same time thankful ko kay tagsa ra ang matagaan ug chance nga mapart sa UAAP team, then UP has also a very excellent record of their academics,” she said.
(They became interested, saw the potential in me, and they recruited me. I was shocked at the time thankful for the opportunity because seldom can one be given a chance to be part of a UAAP team. Then UP has also a very excellent record of their academics.)
However, before UP recruited her to be a member of their volleyball team, Bustrillo had made her mark in the high school scene in Cebu and in the region.
She said that she started playing volleyball for the Medellin High School in Medellin town, estimated to be 120 km north of Cebu City.
Read more: Medellin stays clean, advances to quarterfinals in Governor’s Cup
Bustrillo played for three years for CVIRAA (Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association) and for two years in the Palarong Pambansa.
In October last year, she was chosen as part of the mythical six and best open spiker in Duterte’s Cup in Pasig City.
In April this year, Bustrillo has already been training with the Lady Maroons in the hopes that she will be part of the team’s official lineup.
Bustrillo said that being away from her family was the hardest part of this journey.
She, however, said that she would never back down and take this challenge as a silver lining because she knew that all of these sacrifices would be worth it in the end.
Aside from that, she also said she believed that everything would happen for a reason.
However, she said her newfound family, her teammates, had made it easier for her to cope being away from her family in Cebu and she had been grateful for their support.
“I’m close to Ate Isa Molde, Ate Justine, Ate Lorie, and Ate Rosie or almost all the seniors who served as my big sisters while I’m away from my family,” she said.
Bustrillo, who has been playing since she was in sixth grade, said that her dream would be to not just play volleyball but to also finish a degree in Bachelor of Science in Psychology. /dbs