Belen, Capital1 teammates swing over to a different sport
CARMONA, Cavite—There was that familiar cheeky smile. But unlike on the volleyball court, Bella Belen didn’t have that swag as she swung her arms and hands in a different way—and in a different sport.
For just the second time in her young life, the superstar spiker of Capital1 in the Premier Volleyball League tried swinging a golf club. And unlike in the game of volleyball, where she set all sorts of records in the UAAP with relative ease before turning pro, Belen understandably looked lost doing this one.
In the humbling game of golf, everyone starts out that way.
“We’ve just been eliminated, so time (for me) to try something new,” Belen, the only Rookie-MVP in UAAP women’s volleyball, told the Inquirer on a steamy midday Saturday at Manila Southwoods driving range here where she and Capital1 teammates Pia Abbu, Leila Cruz and Jenya Torres took lessons from former national coach and swing guru Bong Lopez.
“Who knows, we might just be able to pick this up as a hobby,” Belen went on before being given pointers by Lopez first.
“This will be a very easy time for me to teach, because they are all disciplined athletes,” Lopez, who took care of the swings of LPGA champion Jennifer Rosales, Princess Superal, Chihiro Ikeda and Mafy Singson, among others, said.
The quartet came in dressed pretty much like single handicap golfers. And as expected, they attracted a lot of attention on the range.
Leila Cruz, all of her 6-foot frame, also had a hard time at first, same with Abbu, the former University of Santo Tomas middle blocker, who hit a few butterflies when it was her turn to be taught by Lopez.
“I didn’t know it would be this hard,” Abbu said before letting out a hearty laugh. “But we might like this sport, especially during breaks in our tournaments.
“I’m just scared that this could turn out to be such an expensive hobby,” Abbu said, still with a laugh. “One of my uncles had found that out the hard way.”
Hit it a mile
Alyssa Valdez is another volleyball pro whose golf swing has been very much documented. The Creamline spiker, long regarded as the face of women’s volleyball in the country, can hit it a mile and has openly said that she will turn her attention to her short game once she retires from pro volleyball.
Bea de Leon, another Cool Smasher, is a former jungolfer whom Valdez described as probably the best of all the volleyball players in the sport.
With a quartet from Capital1 trying out the game, Valdez, De Leon, Abbu, Cruz, Torres and Belen could ultimately form a first six on the fairways.
