By Jerome Lagunzad
Time, more than anything else, appears to be the biggest obstacle that needs to be hurdled by newly-installed national women’s volleyball coach Shaq delos Santos, who’s been tasked to whip up the Nationals for the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.
Thrust to the spotlight following the sudden resignation of La Salle’s multi-titled tactician Ramil de Jesus last Monday, Delos Santos, 39, knows he and the rest of his coaching staff will have their hands full in forming a training pool and selecting the final cast of players who will suit up for the August 18-Sept. 2 continental meet.
“Time is clearly not on our side so we will try our best to fast-track everything,” said the con-current Petron mentor in a phone interview with Tempo-Bulletin yesterday, just an hour before he officially supervised the Nationals’ continuous tryouts for the very first time at the Arellano gym in Legarda, Manila.
“Our preparations for the Asian Games is already behind since the schedule is very tight. But it is what it is. We just have to make the most out of the remaining days and hopefully, everything will fall according to plan.”
Out to ease some load off Delos Santos’ broad shoulders are his assistants, University of Santo Tomas mentor Kungfu Reyes and Foton deputy Bryan Esquibel.
Aside from the Asian Games which will be co-hosted by Jakarta and Palembang, the Nationals are also gearing up for the Asian Women’s Volleyball (AVC) Asia Cup this September and the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila next year.
Delos Santos, however, is not looking too far ahead. “First of all, I’m very happy to be given with this once in a lifetime opportunity to handle the national team. Of course, this is not any simple work,” he said.
“When you’re handling the national team, an added pressure comes with it. But I’m still pleased that the (national) association (Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas, Inc.) have that trust and confidence in me to be the national team coach.”
