After weeks of heavy preparation, including a couple of tune-up tournaments, the Moalboal women’s team will finally see action in Cluster 3 of the Gov. Gwen Garcia Cup on Oct. 15. Moalboal, a former cluster champion, will face Ronda, Dumanjug, Badian, and Barili in Day 1 and Malabujoc, Alegria, and host Alcantara in Day 2.
The team’s target?
“We are aiming to win the cluster of course,” Moalboal sports coordinator Vivencio “Dondon” Delgado Jr told Cebusports.net in Cebuano. “I think we have a good chance of becoming champions since we still have the players who helped us win the cluster in 2019.”
Chrisa Omagac, Pinky Rose Paquiera, Ivony Love Templado, Niñamae Escaberte, Mary Christine Rebano and Monica Sambilad are still with the squad and Delgado sees them as the veterans that will help the newbies taken from the 80-strong field that joined the two-day tryouts Moalboal held last Aug. 13 and 14.
The veterans are joined by Ivy Gocotano, Jay Ann Tapales, Elvie Aquino, Juliana Isabel Gabales, Colleen Leslie Glover, Angel May Tapales, Jilyn Rivera, Shellce Dela Reta and Marie Mae Isola.
Thanks to the ample support of Mayor Titing Cabaron, the team has been practicing every day, including whole day practices during weekends.
Led by head coach Melfa Gador, the team won an inter-barangay league in Matutinao and is set to play in the semis in another league in Dumanjug. It also won a couple of tuneup games against Malabujoc and Badian. Gador is supported by assistant coach Elviera Razonable and trainers Janice Tampus, Dexter Tapales, Marlen Villanueva, and Maybelle Cabaron.
Delgado, the sports coordinator of the town since 2005, said Moalboal has always had a rich history in the sport thanks to the Moalboal Amateur Volleyball Association and individuals like Dexter Tapales, who has been training kids on his own.
Delgado said at one time, they hired a Cebu City-based trainer to teach local coaches on the proper techniques of training and Tapales was one of the participants.
He also said there was also a time when almost 20 players from Moalboal made the varsity squads of Cebu City-based schools and during one Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. season, only one of the four MVPs wasn’t from the town. One player also made the national men’s team.
“Na-a pud to’y duwa sa Cviraa—Cebu Province vs. Cebu City. Pagkakita nila sa players sa City, halos tanan sa starters taga Moalboal. Naka-ingun sila, ‘Dili ma na taga Cebu City, Cebu Province man gyapon na,’” he said.
Those players were among the scores from the town who earned athletic scholarships in the city, thanks to its volleyball program. Delgado hopes more will be added to that number this season.