AFTER AN up-and-down Season 88, starting playmaker Cassie Carballo is set to exhaust her final year of UAAP eligibility with the UST Golden Tigresses in Season 89.
A senior from the College of Commerce and Business Administration, Carballo confirmed she will return next season, citing remaining academic units in her human resource management program.
“I still really want to play for UST, the pros are always going to be there, but I really want to make the most out of my playing years,” Carballo told The Flame after UST’s bronze-clinching loss to the NU Lady Bulldogs on Saturday, May 2.
“Technically, I still have one more year because I didn’t take a full load, especially when the season’s ongoing, so I still have units,” she added.
With team captain Detdet Pepito closing her UAAP career, Carballo underscored patience as her biggest lesson over the four years with the España squad.
“Number one is patience, especially on myself. That was my main struggle these past seasons, especially in my rookie year, I was too hard on myself,” Carballo said after tallying a career-high 35 sets, to go along with five points.
The former Best Setter credited the team’s potential, but stressed more work to be done, particularly in closing out their opponents.
“We really saw the potential of the team. We were leading in almost all of the sets, but we just kept falling short. We couldn’t close them out, and I think that’s what we need to improve on,” Carballo said.
Meanwhile, fiery spikers Reg Jurado and Xyza Gula have yet to decide on using their final playing year.
Outside hitter Jonna Perdido, who was sidelined in Season 87 due to an ACL injury, still has one year of eligibility remaining but has yet to make a decision.
The Tigresses capped their Cinderella run with an 8–6 slate, climbing from the No. 4 seed to a second straight bronze finish through the stepladder. F
