ALPHA DOG
Her departure from the program she started with is all in the past, as far as Sam Cantada is concerned.
Right now, she’s moved on to more important things, like proving who the new top dog is at National University—and possibly in the UAAP season 88 women’s volleyball tournament.
“Honestly, there are no more emotions. It’s all okay now,” Cantada said on Wednesday, minutes after leading NU to a 25-23, 25-19, 28-26 victory over Adamson.
Cantada delivered 16 points off 13 attacks, two aces and a block against a squad bannered by her former teammates, who she helped win a high school title at Adamson, among them the celebrated Queen Falcon Shaina Nitura.
And while there are still grumblings over her departure, with some Adamson fans still hurt by her departure, Cantada was all business in her first meeting against her former school.
“Game is game,” she said after proving her heroics against University of Santo Tomas weren’t a fluke. “I don’t bring those personal things into it anymore.
“Before the game, my mindset was just to focus and do my best. Like I said, game is game. The past is done. I know they’re okay there now, and I’m okay here too.”
The victory, fashioned at UST’s Quadricentennial Pavilion, gave NU a 2-0 start to the tournament and dispelled doubts that the Lady Bulldogs’ dynasty stood on shaky ground following the graduation of stars Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon.
Cantada is now the program’s new pack leader.
Adamson coach JP Yude, who leaned on Nitura’s 18-point effort in a losing cause, said he is proud of his former high school ward.
“Even though she’s in a different school now, our relationship is still there,” said Yude. “I’m proud of how she performed, especially against us, and how she handled the pressure since she came from here. She keeps moving forward and always tries to give her best in every game.”
“I expected that. Even during the offseason and back in high school, she was already improving and developing a lot. For her first year, the way she’s playing now shows that growth. I just hope that whatever she achieves now and in the future, she stays humble and keeps going,” he added.
NU coach Regine Diego is aware of the noise surrounding Cantada, but she’s making sure that all her players will continue to focus on the things they can control, while urging the public to be kinder to student-athletes.
“I always tell them there are things we can’t control. We just have to accept that and move forward. We need to stay laser-focused on the game because we can’t stop the crowd. We can’t go up to them and ask them to stop. If we could … we would,” said Diego. “I hope fans remember that these are student-athletes. It’s always better to be kind. But since we can’t control those things, what we can control is our focus and our team. That’s what matters.
“We feel very lucky to have Sam with us. Hopefully, she continues to grow with the team. The fact that she’s happy here really warms our hearts. It’s not just that she’s playing well—she’s also comfortable and improving every day. We’re really happy for her.”
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