Almadro confident Fujimoto can fill shoes left by Maraguinot

Ateneo head coach Oliver Almadro is confident that Taks Fujimoto can fill in the big hole that Jaja Maraguinot left in the Blue Eagles’ starting unit, Thursday.

Maraguinot, who just played two full years for Ateneo in the UAAP, opted to forego her final years of eligibility before eventually turning pro with Akari in the Premier Volleyball League.

Almadro said that she is also relying on Faith Nisperos and Vanie Gandler but insisted that she needs Fujimoto to come out of her shell come the 85th season of the UAAP.

“Nandiyan naman si Vanie (Gandler) and si Faith (Nisperos) and of course kailangan kong right away maging leader yung setter ko (Taks Fujimoto) kasi bago e. So, kailangan yung big shoes to fill in, malaking bagay yung pagkawala ni (Jaja) Maraguinot sa akin we need to fill in,” Almadro said.

‘But I’m confident with her na going to the UAAP, makukuha niya  kung anong naiwanan ni Jaja. Malaking bagay sa amin yun e. Hopefully, mag-lead siya sa team kasi ganun yung iniwanan ni Jaja e, leader kasi si Jaja sa amin so kailangan talaga na mag-lead din yung mga setters ko with the help of other players din para magampanan niya yung role niya nang maayos,” he continued.

Fujimoto dished out a game-high 14 assists to go along with three points in the Blue Eagles’ 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory over Far Eastern University in the 2022 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge at the Paco Arena.

Almadro admitted that the team still has a lot of work to do. Still, he is confident that the team can iron it all out during their stint in the V-League.

“We really have to fine tune many things pa. “Matagal pa naman ang UAAP, good thing may mga tournaments na ganito.”