Revelations emerge after Bundit fired as Lady Eagles coach

MANILA, Philippines – Trouble hounds Ateneo de Manila University after it let go of its women’s volleyball team head coach Tai Bundit over the weekend.

According to team manager Tony Boy Liao, Bundit was given the boot last Friday, a sorry development for the mentor who steered the Lady Eagles to prominence, including back to back titles and a couple of runner-up finishes in the past four seasons.

But there’s something deeper than that.

Liao, who engineered the resurgence of Ateneo’s volleyball program, revealed that Bundit and some of his players are no longer seeing eye to eye.

In fact, some players, especially the newbies, were reportedly complaining about the strict training program of the noted Thai guru.

They were also said to be unhappy with their playing time as Bundit prefers veteran players to lead their march back to the title despite the hard training being given to the young guns.

Liao said Ateneo athletic director Emmanuel Fernandez called a meeting early last week to ask the players issue their grievances in a bid to address the issue.

His verdict was harsh: Let Bundit walk away.

“He never resigned,” Liao told a couple of reporters late Sunday.

“There was a meeting last Monday where the grievances of the players were aired. After that, they still had training from Tuesday to Friday. But after that, Em Fernandez went down to tell him that ‘okay, today is your last day. By Monday, don’t train anymore.”

Liao said Bundit was dumbfounded with the turn of events.

After all, all teams — be it high school, collegiate or professional squads — have their respective internal problems. No coach can ever please all of his players.

But Bundit opted to take the high road and walk away.

“He was shocked with the decision. He can’t even ask because of their language barrier,” said Liao. “But he said ‘okay if that’s what you want, I will not go to training on Monday anymore.”

Liao, Fernandez, Ateneo president Jett Villarin and vice president Nemesio Que will sit down in a crucial meeting Monday morning to shed light on the dismissal.

Shorty after that sorry episode, Bundit unleashed the pain through an emotional Instagram post, a message that is seen as his way of bidding goodbye to the fans, the players and the entire community.

He said he instilled the value of discipline to the Lady Eagles and carried the “heartstrong” mantra that equated to four straight UAAP finals appearances.

“When you don’t want me, I will leave you. Every year before start of training, I told like this (sic), if you remember. I want you to have the discipline and heartstrong.”

Bundit’s sacking is just another sorry development to Ateneo’s women’s volleyball program with few months left before the start of the UAAP.

After losing to rival De La Salle University in a thrilling best-of-three finals showdown, star playmaker Jia Morado and libero Gizelle Tan kissed the school goodbye while Michelle Morente bolted for the Lady Spikers due to academic reasons.

Senior Kim Gequillana will also sit out after falling prey to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, leaving the triumvirate of Bea de Leon, Jho Maraguinot and Kat Tolentino.

Bundit, however, said that damage was done and he is firm on packing his bags back to Bangkok regardless of the outcome of the meeting among Liao and Ateneo executives.

He had a short, but meaningful reply.

“No more.”