MANILA, Philippines – Sheena Toring of National University banished the ghost of her past after playing a decent game in her return to the Araneta Coliseum for the first time since her injury during the finals of UAAP Season 85 last year.
In Game 1, Toring hurt her knee in their battle against the DLSU Lady Spikers, which sidelined her for the rest of the series that NU ended up losing.
But seeing action for the first time back at the Big Dome, Toring was able to keep her bearings.
En route to NU’s first straight-sets win of the season — against the Adamson Lady Falcons — the middle blocker contributed quality minutes and three points in the victory.
Though her numbers were far from eye popping, Toring said she has long put her past behind her.
“Last year na kasi yun so sa akin wala na yung nangyari. Naka-move on na ako,” Toring said after the game.
“And of course yung injury ko na yun lesson ko na yun kailangan kondisyon talaga every game. Yung ngayon against [Adamson], gusto lang namin bumawi kasi these past few days pangit laro namin. Yun lang.”
Apart from making a comeback to Araneta, Toring also made her return from a shorter break after missing their game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles last weekend due to academic concerns. The middle blocker was lacking sleep on game day because she had worked on her academic thesis.
Now that she’s back healthy and focused as ever, Toring gets to give her best for the Lady Bulldogs.
“I’m happy kasi yung goal ko talaga today is magcontribute talaga. Last game kasi wala ako kasi puyat kasi ako two hours lang tulog ko… Tapos gusto ko lang bumawi ngayong game na maayos laro ko,” she said.
Toring hopes to continue contributing when the Lady Bulldogs play their next game against a rebuilding UP Fighting Maroons squad on Saturday, March 2, at the Mall of Asia Arena.