Blog Post Appreciation: DLSU Lady Spiker and UAAP Season 79 WV Finals MVP Desiree Cheng

I remember writing a blog post right before the start of UAAP Season 79 Women’s Volleyball tournament that I never got to publish. I never actually finished it. But I said this regarding Desiree Cheng:

“Personally, I think Cheng is more than excited to prove herself to her bashers. She was hyped during her rookie years. In addition, she suffered from injuries. Of course, she was also converted from her natural position to being an opposite hitter. For some time, she would have been the next in line to Kim Fajardo as LS’ setter. She’s now back to being an outside hitter, the position that brought her awards back in her high school years. Come to think of it, Cheng is actually batch mates with Dy and Macandili, all of whom have proven themselves last season, have earned individual awards and won that championship. Imagine her desire of also tasting that title. Cheng is an all-around player like Galang and Demecillo. She has sick serves and steady floor defense. The only question is whether or not she has both improved and expanded her arsenal. A decent blocking will definitely be welcomed. I would also love to see her attacks.”

Original Images Used Credited to Rektikano.net and Br. Araneta

So, it seems that I have a knack of becoming a fan of well-rounded volleyball players. I’m not most people who easily get sold by powerful spikes and be convinced that “oh, she’s the greatest player of all time”. Pretty much, my standard was Manilla Santos. I have been a fan of the DLSU Lady Spikers since Illa was still playing. I had watched her when LS was still joining Shakey’s V-League back then and they even became champions. The thing about Illa that I admire is the fact that she was small (think of UST Lady Tigresses Cherry Rondina) but she spikes the ball like it was nothing. She’s also one of the few volleyball players who can play multi-positions. Her floor defense was so solid that even Coach Ramil made her a libero for some time.

She passed the torch to Cha Cruz. But I was not that much of a fan of Cha Cruz, not until Ara Galang. I knew even when it was still Ara’s rookie year that she was also special. It was at that time when not many yet had appreciated her and her superb skills. I was happy that halfway through her UAAP career, she was finally acknowledged that much.

From Illa to Cha to Ara – all MVPs, all well-rounded players, reliable attackers and solid floor defenders.  This leads me to Desiree Cheng.

 

They said that there was so much hype around Des before she was even officially recruited by La Salle. At that time, I remember Jaja Santiago was the most “sought-after” recruit. I was more aware of her than Des. Anyways, Jaja would end up in NU, Des, Kim Dy, and Dawn Macandili were LS bound (much to the dismay of the blues, since they sort of claimed that both Dy and Cheng would be Lady Eagles), Jia Morado, Ana Gopico (a good friend of Des) and Mich Morente were headed to ADMU, Rondina to UST, and Pons to FEU.

At the start of the UAAP Season 76, I got curious of Des. She was given more minutes than the other rookies in the team. She looked so cute on the court, too.

I remember liking her short hair. Then, I discovered that she had won at least 11 MVP awards in high school. I was surprised. How can you have that many MVP awards? I realized that this might have been the reason why there was so much talk about her and why other schools also wanted to recruit her. She must be really good.

The Lady Spikers swept the elimination round. They had a thrice-to-beat advantage in the Finals. But instead of getting their fourth straight championship, LS was dealt with a huge upset by their arch rival, the Ateneo Lady Eagles. I was very heartbroken. But it didn’t come to a point where I blamed anyone.

I was not that active on Twitter then. So, I didn’t know that the online bashing/bullying on Des went really overboard. 

I understand that some didn’t like her since they might have been hurt that Des didn’t play for their own school/team or it might have been because they were just jealous because of her awards. But it’s another thing if you are already being “hateful” towards a person that you don’t even know in real life. Heck, you could judge her all you want if she had personally done something to intentionally hurt you. Besides, constructive criticisms are different from pure bashing. 

She didn’t deserve the latter. If I was in her shoes, I would have been so depressed.

To be fair, Des played way below the high expectations of people. It was perfectly reasonable for some LS fans to be disappointed. Come Season 77, Des still played as an Opposite Hitter. By then I thought, Coach Ramil better bring her back to her natural position. She ain’t going to break out anytime soon as long as she was the Opposite Hitter. She didn’t seem comfortable. She never did. Just give her the chance to be the outside hitter for once, she would probably slay it. But before she could do that, she had to go through Cyd first, then Ara. That was not easy.

I couldn’t imagine how it must have been for Des. It certainly looked like everything was going against her. Just when she thought she could showcase the best version of herself on the court yet… come Season 78, she tore her ACL. I wish I was active on Twitter back then. I could have offered her words of encouragement. I could have defended her against the haters.

When the Lady Spikers was able to bring back the crown to Taft, Des was left watching from the sidelines. What must have been running through her mind? “I could have been a part of that championship.” 

The sad tale of it is the fact that within those three years where Des is a part of the Lady Spikers, she is yet to get her first championship. Considering how Des was accustomed to winning and receiving MVP awards before, I felt really sorry for her.

I was enraged by some comments that pointed out that Des is a curse for LS and as long as she is playing for the team, LS will not be champions. This is just pathetic, insensitive and harsh. Though the numbers prove that it may be true, I didn’t want for Des to be the common denominator of DLSU's losses in Season 76 and 77. 

I said, “Girl, you got to prove them wrong.” It’s admirable for Des to survive through those three years.

When the line-up for the Season 79 was announced, I was happy to see her there. I was also excited that she would be playing her natural position as an outside hitter. As for her game, I didn’t expect much since it was her comeback season from her knee injury. Honestly, I thought she might be more careful about her landings. She might not want to risk it. There would still be the fear of being injured again. I was not sure how that would actually affect her performance but I hoped she would play decent enough to help her team win their games.

True enough, I was right. Des was not much of an impact offensively during the first round of the eliminations. She couldn’t kill the ball. She seemed hesitant to jump and spike that ball really hard. But she delivered when it comes to defending the floor. It was the only thing keeping her in the starting six. More often than not, Des would get replaced when she was in front because she couldn’t score. But she would return in the game to serve, receive and dig. After watching it for the whole first round, I knew the problem was not really on her skills because she already has it. 

The real problem was more on the mental aspect. Honestly, I really wanted for Des to overcome it sooner. I couldn’t manage to see her fall.

I thought the second round would be a make or break for her. If nothing would change, then that’s it. I even prayed that there had to be some miracle to happen… that in some way, Des would come out of her shell and slay her doubters.

Their first game in the second round was against FEU. It actually seemed like any other game. 

I remember that Des looked unassuming. You would never think that she would suddenly start her second round surge from that game. Am I watching the same Des Cheng as in the first round? Is that powerful spike really from Des Cheng? Is that Des Cheng who just scored? WOW! I was probably less surprised than most people. Deep inside, I knew that she could. But it was the first time for others to see her unleash her power and what she’s actually capable of.    

Des was not the Player of the Game but many fans had chosen her to be the POG. Though she didn’t get that recognition, she didn’t stop there. She continued to slay throughout the second round. Among their seven games, Des scored in double digits five times. Out of those games, she became the Player of the Game twice.

If you are a long time or low key Des Cheng supporter, you would have been so proud. I even felt that feeling again when I read some fans who thought Des would shine during the second round meeting of the Lady Spikers and the Lady Eagles. She didn’t disappoint. In fact, many praised her effort along with KKD and Dawn and for fighting until the very end. I think that was Des’ best game against Ateneo throughout her UAAP career. Though they lost, her performance was something to celebrate about.

At the end of the elimination round of Season 79, Des was the second best receiver behind Dawn, 20^th highest scorer and 10^th in the MVP ranking. Considering that she started sloppily, it certainly was a shock that she was in the Top 10 of the MVP list at all. Imagine if she heated up from the very start of the season… Just thinking of this, I am looking forward to the next two years.

Her semi-finals and finals performances were not far from the usual. She did it all: attacking, receiving, digging, serving, blocking and setting. From double-double in Game 1 to triple-double in Game 2 of the Finals, Des truly deserved that Finals MVP award. It warms my heart that Coach Ramil has chosen her and appreciated her floor defense. Without Des’ steady reception, Fajardo wouldn’t be able to execute their plays. Everyone else is saying the same thing.

This brings me back to what I said at the start of this post. 

If there is anyone right now from the current Lady Spikers who is next in line to the great Ara Galang, it’s Desiree Wynea T. Cheng. Illa to Cha to Ara to Wynea: MVPs, well-rounded players, reliable attackers and solid floor defenders. 

You don’t dare compare Ara to someone who has a shaky floor defense, a poor reception, that can’t be up to par to that of a libero. Spare me.

Season 79 was definitely her comeback season. I love how she said post-finals that her knee injury was a blessing in disguise. I admired her much more for her faith. Indeed, it is true that God has rewarded her with so much more. I prayed to the Lord that if it is for her, it will be given to her no matter what. After all, she deserves it more than anyone from the LS and Lady Eagles players. 

The sincerity and purity of her heart and intentions… no wonder God answered my prayer and hers. She is an inspiration.

Early Prediction, Expectations for Season 80 and 81

Des should work harder on her attacks. She has to improve her attacking efficiency by Season 80. As for her floor defense, she will still be the second “libero” and the second best floor defender in the team. She can also make her services more lethal, not like Kim Fajardo’s but maybe close enough. As for her net defense, I hope she will actually do something about her blocking. It will be better if she can help Majoy, KKD, and Aduke on the net. Given that she will increase her numbers tremendously in those skills mentioned above in Season 80, she will likely move up in the MVP ranking, from 10^th to within 6^th to 8^th. 

My fearless forecast is Des will battle it out with ADMU’s Morente to be the Season 81 MVP. The fact that Des was able to score from out of system plays and she was the one KAF trusted to finish really long rallies, she will be such a threat next season. 

Her triple-double performance in Game 2 was only the start. First off, it’s harder to have a triple-double stats in volleyball than in basketball. For one, volleyball does not have two-point and three-point shots or three-point and four-point plays as in basketball. Secondly, you have no chance at all (unless your back row attacks can be relied upon and your services are deadly) to score when you are on the back row. In basketball, you always have the chance to shoot and score whenever your team is in possession of the ball.

Thirdly, it’s not that easy for Des to have double-digit excellent receptions and digs. Those are Dawn’s main responsibilities and Des is only there to help her. They need to share the work of defending the floor and making sure the ball doesn’t fall on their court. Like in the example above, you can take the rebound in basketball as long as you are on the floor. It does not matter if it’s an offensive or defensive rebound. Whereas in volleyball, you don’t always have the chance to receive the first ball. The opponent may choose to direct her service to another player and intentionally avoid someone who has high reception efficiency. In this case, Des’ excellent receptions can be limited to only single digit. The opposing team would not want to target Des with their services. As for the digs, when you have Dawn as your libero, she will get most of the digs. So, it means something when you lessen the load on her and have double-digit digs too.

Given these factors, it is so admirable for volleyball players to manage triple-double stats. Aside from Des and ADMU’s Morente, FEU’s Pons, ADU’s Galanza, UP’s Molde and UST’s Rondina are those that can deliver such stats. The fate of their team (especially the number of sets played) in the next two seasons will decide on their MVP ranking. Since Pons, Galanza, and Rondina, plus Santiago, Baron, KKD, will no longer play in Season 81, it will be Cheng vs Morente. I’m calling it now.

As for my favorite team, the DLSU Lady Spikers will still make it into the Final Four in Season 80 despite the departure of Fajardo. I trust Coach Ramil’s system. I expect that pundits / “experts” will again write off DLSU like before Season 79 when Ara, Cyd, Mika and others left the team. I can’t say if LS can defend their title. It highly depends on whoever will be the next main setter. Of course, I want them to be the champions for the third straight year. I just hope that Des will stay as an outside hitter. I don’t want her to be converted to a setter if it comes to that point. Her reception will be missed and Dawn won’t have someone reliable to help her.

As for the team captain in Season 80, I think it will be either KKD or Majoy. I’m leaning towards KKD. Des may be one of the options too, given her on court swag. But I don’t want her to be the team captain next season. I don’t want her to feel pressured. The less pressure, the better. Let those with one last playing year to lead the team. 

This does not mean that I don’t want Des to be the team captain. I saw how she stepped up to be the leader whenever both KAF and KKD were subbed out. Of course, I would love to see her that way for one whole season… in Season 81. It will be her last playing year. She deserves a wonderful exit.