Noel Kampton and Vince Maglinao may not deliver the championship for the De La Salle University Green Spikers, but they left the school with a winning culture.
For the third consecutive year, the Green Spikers settled for fourth place, just outside the podium finish. However, Kampton and Maglinao saw the feat as a strong foundation that future Green Spikers could build upon, after a few seasons finishing outside the top four.
Kampton said after their semifinals defeat against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, “First of all, thank you po kasi ‘di kami makikilala sa UAAP kung hindi dahil sa coaches namin. Siyempre, ‘yun nga, hindi kami nakapag-finals ulit for three straight years. Okay lang, para sa amin, ang importante kasi walang na-injure sa amin at sa mga kalaban namin – ‘yun ‘yung pinaka-okay talaga.”
“Siguro ‘yung legacy na maiiwan namin ay ‘yung winning culture sa La Salle at ‘yung nababalik sa Taft na nasa Final Four kami kasi matagal din nawala. Who knows? Maybe next season mag-ibang storya kasi may mga rookies kami na papasok. Thank you lang din sobra, na-o-overwhelm ako sa last playing year namin ni Vince. Thank you po.”
Maglinao’s piece of advice to his juniors? Dream big.
He said, “Siguro for my teammates, ang masasabi ko lang ay to dream big kasi kapag may pangarap ka, kung gusto mo ‘yung pangarap mo, kung mahal mo ‘yung ginagawa mo, gagawin mo ‘yung lahat.”
“Take care of yourself kasi it’s very important na you’re healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally. Kailangan every game, always a 101%. For my teammates na maiiwan ko, I have taught them everything na kaya kong maturo sa kanila. I guess next season, it’s their time. Time na nila ‘yun.”
Now that his collegiate career came to an end, Maglinao said he would take time off the court to rest. He said, “To be honest, rest. I’m not certain about what I’m gonna do after, but I’ll just leave it to God and whatever God’s plan is.”
Meanwhile, Kampton revealed that he has already received offers from club teams, but nothing is set in stone yet, especially now that his focus is to finish his studies.
He said, “Siguro, bawi muna ako sa aral ko. Sa aral syempre kasi graduating na ako this December, gusto kong maka-graduate rin. Sa volleyball, siguro pahinga muna ako kasi sobrang nakaka-exhaust ‘yung volleyball. Basta babalik ako sa volleyball, di ko lang alam kung saang team pa.”
In the end, Kampton assured everyone that he would suit up for the Philippine men’s national team once his name was called.
He ended, “Waiting pa rin kasi sa national team, iba-iba naman ‘yung lineup. ‘Pag tinawag nila ako, i’ll go pero ang focus ko muna talaga kasi ngayon [ay] parang kahit ‘di ako mag-national team o mag national team, ayoko muna kasi gusto ko muna mag-focus sa next chapter ng life ko kasi graduating na ako, wala na ako sa high school.”
“Maghahanap ako ng paraan maka-work as a volleyball player. Hopefully, may mga kaunting nakakausap na kami. Pag natuloy, announce ko na lang soon, pero ‘yun, gusto ko muna magpahinga.”
