Fujimoto takes young Eagles under her wings and helps Ateneo soar
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Ateneo captain and playmaker Taks Fujimoto, one of the few holdovers, is embracing the challenge of leading and helping the young and rebuilding the Blue Eagles in unlocking their potential.
Ateneo opened its 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals Cebu Leg campaign, needing to withstand the gritty University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) before bagging a 29-27, 25-20, 24-26, 25-14 win on Friday at Mandaue Sports Complex here.
After core players Lyann de Guzman and AC Miner turned pro, Fujimoto is showing the patience of leading a young team and running the plays of Brazilian coach Sergio Veloso.
“Since our team has a lot of younger players, we’re still in the process of growing and developing—it’s step by step,” Fujimoto told the Inquirer in Filipino after dishing out 10 excellent sets. “But in the end, we need to fight for every point and every game.
“I’ve embraced the challenge by using my experience to help guide the younger ones,” she went on. “I know it’s tough, especially adjusting to coach Sergio’s system—it’s not easy for rookies. But as a senior and team captain, I’m here to guide them and make sure they stay focused on following [the] system.”
After barely surviving the first two sets, Ateneo blew two match points after USPF chalked up the clutch kill-blocks to score four straight points to extend the match to a fourth frame.
The Blue Eagles were quick to regroup, unleashing an 18-10 spread with Gena Hora and Jihan Chuatico spearheading the comfortable fourth set win as Ateneo notched a first win in the second leg of the SSL National Invitationals, where the best squad among the four emerges as Cebu’s champion.
“They really pushed us to our limits, so we had to push ourselves even harder,” said Fujimoto. “That’s why we need to really show everything we’ve trained for, and keep working on building our chemistry.”
Veloso wanted his wards to take whatever they’ve learned from their opening match here into the battle against Cesafi champion University of San Carlos on Saturday at 6 p.m. They then face the Shaina Nitura-led Adamson Lady Falcons on Sunday.
“We have a lot of rookies and it’s a new system. They need to know how to play in this situation,” Fujimoto continued. “You have the fans, you have an opponent and you have to feel this kind of pressure. It’s so different in practice.
“I know my team in practice but they need to know they can perform the same in the (actual) match. It is the most important [thing] now for us.“
Zey Pacia led Ateneo with 13 points off nine kills, two aces and two blocks. Rob Silla and Faye Nisperos had 12 points each, while Hora and Chuatico added eight points each.
“They’re still getting there. They’ve got a lot of potential,” Fujimoto said of her young teammates. “But they still need to push themselves more to fully adapt to the system, which is very different from what they were used to in high school.”
