Amid uncertainty, Bocboc eyes better UP finish if he stays
Benson Bocboc, who has juggled high-profile coaching roles for Farm Fresh in the Premier Volleyball League and the University of the Philippines in UAAP Season 87, is nearing a pivotal career transition—and it is one he always knew was coming.
After all, he was serving Farm Fresh in an interim role. And as for the Maroons, he knew he only had a season to run the squad.
“That’s what we agreed on at first, only for this season,” he said.
After guiding the Foxies to a 5-6 record, Bocboc will hand over the reins to veteran international tactician Alessandro Lodi, who will be the third coach for Farm Fresh in two years.
“This marks a new chapter for our teams,” said Farm Fresh team manager Kiara Cruz in a media statement. “… [W]e’re not just maintaining momentum—we’re becoming stronger.”
Meanwhile, in the collegiate ranks, Bocboc steered the Fighting Maroons to a respectable sixth-place finish in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament. The team went 6-8, notching surprising wins against title contenders National University and La Salle.
He wished he could have done better. And that could be the goal if he is asked to stay.
“Whatever we agree on later, we’ll see. But if I do stay, we’ll push further,” he said.
“It can’t be like this (missing the semifinals). People say we did well, but we fell short of the Final Four. We’ll talk after this, maybe organize a meeting in a few weeks, and then decide where we’re going.”
Not guaranteed
Team captain Nica Celis is set to move on, while key players Joan Monares, Irah Jaboneta and Niña Ytang are still weighing their futures. Replacing them could be a promising trio from California Academy—the high-scoring Casiey Dongallo, setter Kizzie Madriaga and hitter Jelai Gajero—who redshirted this season after transferring from the University of the East.
Also on board is their high school coach, Obet Vital.
Bocboc noted that the new additions have yet to train with the current squad, as the focus remained solely on this season. Even with their potential, he cautioned that replicating the chemistry developed this year is far from guaranteed, especially with the possibility of another coaching shake-up.
“Let’s say I’m still here next season—I only committed to try to reach the Final Four this year,” Bocboc said. “All our focus was on this season. We weren’t thinking about being stronger next year. No one thought, ‘Let’s just do better next year.’ Because honestly, we don’t know what we’ll have next year.”
Elsewhere, in the UAAP men’s volleyball semifinals, University of Santo Tomas and National University are set to face off in a do-or-die clash at 2 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
