MANILA, Philippines – De La Salle University head coach Ramil de Jesus quietly notched another milestone in his remarkable coaching career last Sunday, when he guided the Lady Spikers to a three-set victory over University of the East (UE) in the UAAP Season 79 women's volleyball tournament.

The game – an uneventful 25-18, 25-14, 26-16 romp for the Lady Spikers – was De Jesus' 300th UAAP match, dating back to 1997 when he piloted La Salle to a fourth-place finish in the Season 60 tournament.

De Jesus' stint has been a golden age for La Salle women's volleyball. Counting their win against UE on Sunday, he has compiled a spectacular record of 237 wins and 63 losses. That's right: De Jesus has lost only 63 matches in his 20-year coaching career with La Salle. For comparison, the UE women's team once lost 58 straight games in a four-year stretch.

His nine UAAP women's titles speak for themselves, but more remarkably, the Lady Archers have made the Finals in 16 of De Jesus' 19 seasons in charge. They mustered only a fourth-place finish in his first season, but since then, they have missed the Finals only twice – in Season 69, when La Salle sat out the entire UAAP season; and in Season 70, when the Lady Archers were knocked out of contention due to the eligibility issues of star player Jacqueline Alarca.

Along the way, De Jesus' volleyball program has produced some of the best players in the country, all of whom regularly credit the strict, stoic coach for their success.

Manilla Santos, Jac Alarca, and Stephanie Mercado were among the first stars of La Salle volleyball, and since then, La Salle has regularly churned out top players – from Cha Cruz to Aby Maraño and Michele Gumabao, to Mika Reyes and Ara Galang, and now to Kim Fajardo, Kianna Dy, and Dawn Macandili.

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De Jesus was not even aware that he had already coached 300 UAAP games. He only knew that he was entering his 20th season as head coach of the Lady Spikers – another remarkable achievement considering the volatile nature of coaching positions in the sport.

"Pag nandoon 'yung passion mo, hindi mo na mararamdaman," he said of the passage of time. "Parang hindi ka mapapagod kapag masaya ka sa ginagawa mo."

For De Jesus, his longevity in La Salle was a credit to his system, which demands tremendous discipline from his players both inside and outside the court.

"Kasi pag nag-set ka ng system, 'yun na 'yun eh," said De Jesus, whose teams have regularly featured a combination of fearsome net defense and airtight floor defense. "'Yun na 'yung gustong mon a mangyari sa team mo."

"Bawat coach, mayroon gusto na mangyari sa isang team," he explained. "Kung ano 'yung gusto mong strength ng team doon ka magko-concentrate."

De Jesus' system clearly works – his coaching record and nine titles do not lie. For his players, however, the coach's impact extends further than what he has taught them about the sport of volleyball.

Passion for volleyball

Macandili and Fajardo – two of the players who now anchor the La Salle team – both point to De Jesus' passion for volleyball as the key to his longevity and success.

"Si coach, very passionate siya sa lahat ng ginagawa niya, especially sa coaching. Sobrang seryoso siya inside the court, lalo na sa training," said the libero Macandili, who under De Jesus' guidance has blossomed into one of the finest defenders in the country.

Macandili is in awe of how De Jesus consistently extracts the best from his players, especially when one considers the turnover rate in collegiate sports. Even as his veterans graduate, De Jesus would take rookies or sophomores and inevitably mold them into perfect pieces for his volleyball fighting unit.

"'Di ba after five years, mag-ga-graduate na naman, bago na naman. Sobrang patient niya sa mga bagong players niya, sa pag-handle sa players niya," said Macandili. "Sobrang iba talaga pag makikita mo at ma-experience mo."

"Personally, siguro wala ako dito ngayon, lahat ng na-achieve ko kung hindi dahil sa kanya," she added.

Fajardo, for her part, also took note of De Jesus' uncanny discipline.

"Sobrang disciplined na tao siya eh, 'yun 'yung ginagawa niya sa amin. Siguro, kaya 'yung mga tao, sumusunod lang din sa kanya. At saka sobrang tiwala, kasi iba naman talaga ang nararating ng mga teams niya," she said.

"Sobrang tiyaga niya talaga, sobrang daming generations, pero 'yun pa rin ang tinuturo niya, hindi pa rin siya nagsasawa," she added.

Father figure

For De Jesus' longtime assistant, Noel Orcullo, a huge part of De Jesus' success can be attributed to the relationship that he has cultivated with his players – which goes way beyond the volleyball court.

"Kung unang makikita mo 'yan, talagang sasabihin mong suplado, strikto. Actually, strikto naman talaga pagdating sa court," he said of De Jesus. "Talagang pag training, training. Pero sa labas, tatay talaga siya nang mga player."

This relationship, more than anything else, is the bedrock of La Salle's volleyball program, according to Orcullo.

"'Yung mga bata kasi talagang tinuturing naming pamilya, hindi lang as a player. Outside of the court, pamilya namin sila, nababantayan namin sila," he said. "Talagang father figure kami sa kanila. Kung may problema, kinakausap namin para maayos ng maaga."

Asked if he had any favorite among the several players that he handled, De Jesus spoke like a true father and said, "Wala, kasi lahat sila."

According to Orcullo, De Jesus does not play favorites, but he does hold up certain players as examples or role models for others. "Kunware si ganito, bakit siya nagagawa niya, sila hindi nila magawa? Kasi nga may isang player na ginagawa namin modelo na dapat," he explained.

"Wala namang nabigyan nang special treatment sa kanila. Kaya lang minsan, kapag laging nako-compare sa ganitong, akala favorite na namin pero hindi talaga," Orcullo added.

Impact outside the court

De Jesus was instrumental in turning Fajardo from a reluctant team captain into the now unquestioned leader of the Lady Spikers. And when the veteran setter has moments of doubts, she simply remembers the words that her coach told her last year.

"Sabi niya sa akin, 'Kung anong character ng team mo, 'yun ang character ko,' kasi nga captain ako noon," Fajardo revealed. "Sa akin, syempre ayaw kong makita 'yung team ko na nalulugmok, bumaba, hindi lumalaban, kasi 'yun 'yung character ko, so nagre-reflect din siya sa akin."

"So parang napa-isip ako na, oo nga ano, kasi team ko 'yun, captain ako eh. So ayaw kong hayaan 'yung team ko na ganoon kasi ako rin
'yun," she stressed. "'Yun lang ang pinaghuhugutan ko talaga. Bumabalik ako sa time na 'yun."

De Jesus made an impact on Macandili even before she transformed into La Salle's super libero. She was not recruited to play for the Lady Spikers out of high school, but went to Taft anyway, as it was her dream university.

According to Macandili, she and De Jesus never discussed an athletic scholarship, and indeed, she was already lining up to pay her tuition fee as a frosh when she discovered her coach's remarkable action.

"'Yung check ko, mali ang nailagay ng mom ko, hindi siya De La Salle University," she said. "Basta, mali."

The diminutive player was on the verge of panic, wondering how she can properly explain the situation. When she got to the cashier, however, she was informed that she had been given a scholarship.

"Sabi, 'Miss dito po kayo sa kabilang counter, sa scholarship.' 100% scholar pala ako, so sobrang thankful ako kay coach," said Macandili. "Sobrang thankful ako kay coach, kasi sayang din naman yung opportunity na ma-grant ka ng scholarship."

"So natutuwa ako kasi parang hindi ko naman hiningi sa kanya na bigyan ako ng scholarship, pero binigyan niya ako. Ganoon siya kabait," she added.

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