The second half of UAAP Season 81 has already began and we have already seen several new and familiar faces take center stage in the volleyball, football, lawn tennis, baseball, and softball divisions. While the location of the games of the volleyball, men’s football, baseball, and softball divisions remain constant, the same cannot be said for the lawn tennis and women’s football divisions as, due to unforeseen circumstances, their tourneys were moved to Colegio San Agustin-Bulacan and Circulo Verde, respectively. The LaSallian interviewed a few DLSU student athletes to get their insights on the new venues where their respective tournaments will be held.
Colegio San Agustin-Bulacan
After conducting the tennis matches at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center last season, this year, the tournaments will be held in a new location at Colegio San Agustin in Bulacan. From just a few walks away from DLSU, the relocation requires the tennisters to cover a distance of 43.8 km or about at least an hour and a half away by car depending on the smoothness of the traffic.
According to Kylla Orillosa, a senior Lady Tennister, the new venue has potential benefits but is just a bit farther away from DLSU. The place has many courts that can accommodate more games simultaneously and thus, more courts to warm up which “will be great for everybody.” Aside from that, it is also an enclosed area, which is somewhat different from the usual tennis locations that are outdoor and are under the scorching heat of the sun. Because of these, she expects that “the games [would] finish [faster] because there are more courts, no wind, so the shots will be different as well. And of course since the courts are different some people might play differently,” she explained.
Although, playing indoors is not typically how the team practices; at the open area of Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, the tennisters “as a team have practiced there beforehand so we know how it feels already in the new venue,” Orillosa disclosed. “How we’ll adjust and how I’ll adjust is the same: by planning ahead and playing according to what is needed,” she added.
Since there are matches scheduled at eight in the morning, the team will have to pack and depart at an even earlier time just to arrive at the venue on time to avoid losing by default in case they’ll be late. However, Orillosa exclaimed that “knowing how well my team plans and communicates about all of these, we won’t expect any small inconveniences such as those.”
Despite the change in the area, Orillosa believes that her team will still play the way they do and it will not necessarily affect their UAAP journey this season. “Our coaches have done everything to make sure we’re ready to play and we know how the new courts are like, so that we can play our best,” she ended.
Circulo Verde
Situated in Bagumbayan, Quezon City, Circulo Verde will host the women’s football tournament this season. Previously, the tourney was held at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium and FEU-Fern Diliman Football Field, with the former being a walking distance from La Salle at 1.2 kilometers, while the latter is 20.5 kilometers away from DLSU. According to Google Maps, the distance between the University and Circulo Verde is approximately 18.9 kilometers. It would take less than an hour to get to Circulo Verde via C-5 road if there’s no traffic when travelling to the venue.
Playing in a different venue will have its fair share of benefits and disadvantages to the DLSU Lady Booters as shared by team captain Kyra Dimaandal. “The pros I can see as of the moment is that no team has ever had the advantage to have a feel of the field. Everyone has to adjust,” Dimaandal explained.
As for the cons, the Lady Booters have yet to get a feel of what it’s like to play in Circulo Verde. The team is usually seen practicing at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, De La Salle Zobel, and DLSU Laguna Campus’ Football Field. Dimaandal added, “We’ve always trained on turf, and there’s a big difference. The bounce of the ball, how heavy your run feels, the speed of the ball, and more. We have to get used to it and we hope that the field has good standards.”
Dimaandal remains confident that the Green-and-White will be able to adjust to the new setting due to their experience of training in different football fields. The only problem that she sees is the distance of her teammates’ runs and the weights of their passes. As for herself, Dimaandal feels, “I’d have to adjust the way I run since I haven’t really had a proper running form yet and the field determines my runs.”
To familiarize themselves with the football field in Circulo Verde, the Lady Booters plan on visiting the said place on March 2, a few days before they are set to go up against their archrivals, the ADMU Lady Eagles on Wednesday, March 6 at 3 pm.
