Members of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) girls volleyball team, Cesafi’s three-peat champions, are the guests of the latest episode of the CDN Sportstalk. | Brian Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) girls volleyball team, three-peat champions of the Cebu Sports Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), shares the key to their success: Discipline.
Yolly Rizarri, USPF Baby Panthers girls volleyball team head coach, said during an interview at the latest CDN Sportstalk episode that along with prayers and hard work, discipline had been her best weapon in letting the team win.
Read more: USPF is three-peat Cesafi girls volleyball champion
“It is overwhelming, but we never lost hope, and we always ask from God, and he gave it,” said Rizarri when asked during CDN Sportstalk about her feelings for the USPF girls volleyball team being the Cesafi’s champions three years in a row.
She again reiterated discipline’s role in the team’s victories.
“Discipline gyud, paired with their determination to win. (The) Good thing is that they take it all in a positive way,” she said.
Mitzi Panangin, the team’s captain, said that Rizarri was indeed a strict coach when it would come to their practices but they were complaining about it.
“Strict, but you will really have something to learn from her,” said Panangin.
But along their way to success, they too had one bad game against one of the powerhouses in the high school girls volleyball team.
Read more: USJ-R forges do-or-die game vs defending champs USPF in Cesafi girls volleyball
In an interview, one of their open spikers, Ressel Pedrosa, recalled the team’s worst game this season.
“It was when we were defeated by the Baby Jaguars (University of San Jose Recoletos). It was our only loss this year,” said Pedrosa, who was referring to Game 2 of the best of three finals series where the Baby Jaguars beat the Baby Panthers and forced a rubber match, which the latter won in four sets.
With their three-peat as Cesafi girls volleyball champions, the Baby Panthers girls volleyball team is grateful to the people behind their success especially their head coach Rizarri. /dbs