Dodee Batindaan, Lady Chiefs taking it ‘step by step’ in rebuilding NCAA championship hopes

Published April 1, 2024 6:13pm

Updated April 1, 2024 6:13pm

Team captain Dodee Batindaan and the Arellano University Lady Chiefs are taking it one day at a time as they slowly but surely regain their form ahead of the NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball tournament.

Batindaan, one of the holdovers from last season, said the squad is putting premium on the basics as they look to bring back the lost glory amidst a title drought in the past two seasons.

“Sinisimulan namin sa training kasi hindi po namin agad nilu-look forward ‘yung championship,” Batindaan told GMA News Online.

“Last year, nalaglag kami sa Final Four so ngayon ang first step ay makablik muna sa Final Four then kung pinalad, another target is ‘yung finals. Kumbaga ngayon po, step by step kami.”

[We start it in training and we’re not looking forward to the championship… Last year, we fell outside the Final Four, so our first step is to make it back and if we’re lucky, another target is the finals. This year, we’re taking it step by step.]

Before the pandemic hit, Arellano sat on the throne. But when the tournament resumed in Season 97, the Lady Chiefs saw their title streak snapped after falling to the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the finals.

The following year, they missed out on the finals altogether after failing to enter the Final Four with a 5-4 win-loss card while the Lady Blazers kept the crown in Taft.

“Masakit po talaga ‘yung nawala kami sa Final Four so isa-isa muna kami ngayon,” the third year middle blocker added.

[It really hurt when we didn’t make it to the Final Four so we’ll take it one game at a time.]

But what happened in the past two seasons is now squarely in the rearview mirror for the former champs as Batindaan and the rest of the crew set their sights on Season 99.

Aside from the 5-foot-8 Batindaan, tipped to lead the Lady Chiefs are Laika Tudlasan, Charmina Diño, Marianne Padillon, Harem Ceballos, and Donnalyn Paralejas with head coach Obet Javier still at the helm.

“Lagi lang niya (Coach Javier) sinasabi na ‘pag naglalaro kayo, naglalaro kayo para sa school at hindi para lang sa sarili niyo. ‘Yun lang ‘yung nilalagay namin sa isip at puso namin.”

[He always tells us that when we play, we play for our school and not just for ourselves. That’s what is in our minds and hearts.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News