MANILA, Philippines – UAAP super rookie Casiey Dongallo may not be headed far in Season 86 after UE once again lagged to the bottom of the standings, but she is surely not heading anywhere else but with the Lady Warriors regardless of where their once-promising campaign goes.
Pulled aside by reporters after UE’s four-set win against Adamson, 26-24, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, on Saturday, March 23, the league’s top scorer set the record straight on fast-swirling rumors that she is about to leave the Lady Warriors at season’s end for more established programs.
“To answer that question, I really don’t have a plan on leaving UE, because we started here, and we’re seeing UE’s progress. So why should I leave that?” Dongallo said in Filipino after powering down 28 points – two short of her UAAP rookie record mark – against the Lady Falcons.
Interim head coach Dr. Obet Vital, who has since taken over for the suspended Jerry Yee, cleared up the situation as well, saying that the UE rookie group from Antipolo’s California Academy are locked in with the Strong Group Athletics (SGA)-backed Lady Warriors in the near future.
“I know there’s lots of posts of her ready in a UST uniform, and talks with management with La Salle, and rumors about SGA and her. I just wanna clarify, SGA [and] Frank Lao are committed to UE and the girls for three years. That’s his commitment,” he said after his team snapped a six-game losing streak.
“All the UE girls are not going anywhere as a matter of fact there are more coming next year, okay? So I just want to press on that, that we’re clear. There are a lot of people who love to make news. They want to make news, that’s okay, but these are the facts.”
Along with Dongallo, the California Academy group makes up a big chunk of the current UE player and coaching core, including Shamel Fernandez, captain Kizzie Madriaga, injured star spiker Jelai Gajero, Dr. Vital, and fellow assistant coach Stephanie Cholico.
With them around, the Lady Warriors are obviously in a better place than they were in years past, and they intend on seeing this process through until the end, for better or worse.
“They expect high scoring from me, so I just use that as motivation. Even at 18 years old, I already have a lot of high expectations set on me, but I’m not letting myself get pressured,” Dongallo continued. “At least Kizzie is there and my seniors to always help me out.” – Rappler.com