FIVE-FOOT-THREE libero Dawn Nicole Macandili was the shortest player in the recent 19th Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship but stood tall after emerging as the Second Best Libero during the awarding ceremonies last Thursday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan City.
Macandili—the heart and soul of the national team that finished eighth in the 14-team championship topped by Japan—made history by becoming the first Filipino to win an individual award in the continental championship.
As the De La Salle standout’s name was called, the crowd and her teammates went wild as her heroic and limb-sacrificing effort of diving for the ball to make those gigantic saves was acknowledged by Asia’s ruling body for volleyball.
“I was surprised because this is my first time to play in an international tournament and then I received this kind of honor,” Macandili said. “I’m really thankful but, at the same time, I don’t to settle for this. Maybe next time I will do better and continue to up my performance.”
After receiving the trophy, Macandili rushed to the stands and hugged her parents, teammates and fellow libero Denden Lazaro.
Her feat in the Asian championship also validated her prestigious award while playing for F2 Logistics in the Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference—a Most Valuable Player trophy that was awarded to a libero for the first time.
“It doesn’t go down with awards, all I want is to play and do my passion, which is volleyball. I will just keep on playing for my team and the Philippines,” the defensive specialist added.
“I’m very happy for her. See? We [Filipinos] can win such individual awards as long as we trust the process of a continuous program for the national team,” national team Coach Francis Vicente said.
Macandili, however, was listed as a reserve on the national team for the 29thSoutheast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian organizers limited each volleyball roster to 12 players, unlike in the Asian championships where each team was allowed 14 players.
Vicente said they have made adjustments on the roster and is hoping Malaysian volleyball officials will approved of the changes.