MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines may have missed securing the top-ranked high school basketball player but scooped up two of the best volleyball prospects from the Visayas.
Under the watch of program director Oliver Almadro, the Fighting Maroons landed a Palarong Pambansa MVP in Jothea Mae Ramos and CESAFI champion Joanneesse Gabrielle Perez to shore up their young squad for the UAAP Season 86 that unfurls next month.
Bacolod Tay Tung hotshot Ramos steered Western Visayas to the 2023 Palarong Pambansa crown and bagged the MVP plum at the expense of powerhouse National Capital Region represented by National U.
Perez, for her part, anchored Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu to the CESAFI title in 2022 and a runner-up finish last year.
“The UP volleyball program and the UP community are really happy for the commitment of these two high school standouts. Aside from their talents, they will bring their aggressiveness and leadership to our UP WVT,” said Almadro, the former Ateneo mentor.
With two prized recruits now on deck to join a promising unit led by UAAP’s Second Best Middle Blocker and national team member Niña Ytang, UP is out to snap a long Final Four drought since last making it in Season 79 led by now PVL stars Tots Carlos and Isa Molde.