Before taking the reins as head coach of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, Benson Bocboc was a longtime deputy of Ramil de Jesus for the De La Salle University Lady Spikers, serving as one of his assistant coaches from 2016 to 2024.
In fact, almost all players in the current Lady Spikers lineup were once handled by Bocboc, except for rookie setter Mikole Reyes. Aside from the Lady Spikers, Bocboc also served as De Jesus’s assistant coach in several club teams, such as Shopinas.com Lady Clickers and F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in the now defunct Philippine Superliga.
That familiarity with De Jesus’ proven and tested system that brought them many championships over the years was the key to the Fighting Maroons’ 26-24, 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 16-14 upset victory against the Lady Spikers on Sunday, April 13, to keep their Final Four hopes alive.
“Kanina sa dugout sabi ko sa kanila, may nararamdaman ako na baka ito na ‘yung araw na makakuha tayo ng panalo. Okay naman ini-expect, sabi ko sa kanila may mga bagay na siyempre kilala natin ‘yung players ng kabila, so sabi ko makinig lang kayo sa gagawin niyo, ganito lang gagawin,” he said after the match.
“Well siguro compared sa ibang kalaban, mas maraming information silang nakuha sa La Salle. Pero ang reminder ko lang naman sa kanila is they focus on their own. ‘Pag dumating sila sa situation na ‘yun na familiar sila, alam na nila ang gagawin nila.”
Despite his unusual familiarity with the opponent’s system, Bocboc still gave credit to his players for how they played and fought.
“Trinabaho naman nila, sila ‘yung naglalaro, e. Sabi ko, magaan ‘yung pakiramdam natin ngayon, trabaho tayo ng ilang days succeeding. Nung una, ang dami pang ginagawa nung bandang dulo nakukuha na nila, nata-touch na nila ‘yung mga block, so ayun siguro, basta susunod lang naman sila – nagkataon maganda ‘yung panalo,” he ended.
With the win, the Fighting Maroons rose to a 6-6 win-loss record, while the Lady Spikers dropped to an 8-4 record, tying the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses. The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws are still in contention for a spot in the Final Four with an 8-5 win-loss record.
The Fighting Maroons will face the Golden Tigresses on Wednesday, April 23, at 1 pm, before closing their elimination round against the Adamson University Lady Falcons on Sunday, April 27, at 1 pm.
