MANILA, Philippines — For the first time in Shakey’s Super League’s four seasons, coach KungFu Reyes was no longer wearing the colors of University of Santo Tomas.

Reyes, who was UAAP women’s volleyball’s second-longest tenured coach after La Salle’s Ramil De Jesus, arrived at Wednesday’s press conference clad in San Beda’s red-and-white.

READ: UAAP: Shaq Delos Santos takes over as UST Tigresses head coach

But some things just never change as he still exchanged banters with his longtime player at UST Detdet Pepito during the SSL launch.

“It’s still volleyball. We’re still speaking the same language, it’s just that now, I’m on the other side of the court. It’s basically the same; I’m still part of the program, it’s not something distant or completely different. At the end of the day, it’s still volleyball,” said Reyes, who was appointed as head of UST’s women’s volleyball program following the promotion of Shaq Delos Santos to head coach last June.

“[But] it was really an adjustment, getting used to the school’s culture and the setup of the NCAA. We’re still in that process where I’m trying to understand what San Beda already has, and at the same time, San Beda is also learning and adapting to the system we want to implement for the team.”

Seeing her coach on the other side now, UST captain and libero Pepito recalled how Reyes, still the school’s girls’ volleyball coach, guided their batch from high school to college.

“Of course, I’m happy because over the past years, we’ve seen how Coach Kungfu really helped raise us and guided us,” said Pepito. “I’m happy for him now that he’s with another team, because I know he’ll be able to help even more players. It’s a little sad, but we still get to see him often, so overall, I’m happy.”

Pepito hopes the best for Reyes, who will open a new chapter in the NCAA, believing the Lady Red Spikers will gain a lot from their new tactician.

READ: KungFu Reyes keen to end San Beda’s NCAA Final Four drought

“Coach, I hope you’re happy there, because we’re really happy for you. And to the players of San Beda, just listen to Coach, because I promise, he’s a huge help. It’s tough love, but it works,” she said.

As for UST’s new era, Pepito, setter Cassie Carballo and opposite hitter Reg Jurado are excited to see how far the team has come in terms of learning Delos Santos’ system.

“Hopefully, through this preseason league, we’ll be able to show what we’ve learned so far,” said Carballo. “These changes are actually a big opportunity for us to show what we have right now. At the same time, it helps us identify our lapses, the things we still need to work on, as we prepare for the UAAP.

“We’re still in the process of adapting. But hopefully, through this preseason league, we’ll be able to show everything we’ve learned under Coach Shaq’s coaching and leadership,” added Jurado.

The 22-year-old Pepito said it wasn’t hard getting accustomed to Delos Santos’ system as he’s been Reyes’ deputy for the past two seasons.

Pepito, who returned for her fifth and final year, vows to save the best for last, beginning this preseason.

“I guess my goal now is to play even better than I did before so I can help my team more, since it’s my last playing year,” she said.

“Based on my experience now, I feel like my knowledge of the game keeps growing. Coach Kungfu’s system really helped a lot, and now it’s being built on even more with Coach Shaq. So hopefully, this is the change everyone’s been waiting for and we’re really going to work hard to make it happen.”

UST and San Beda are among the 16 teams competing in the SSL Unity Cup, which kicks off September 20.