Renee Peñafiel was on the bench of the University of Santo Tomas Tigresses in the UAAP Season 86 finals two years ago—the last time she was part of a championship game—and watched as her team was swept by powerhouse National University, which was handled by her current coach at Chery Tiggo, Norman Miguel.
Even before the draft, Peñafiel attended the aspirants’ workout session for the Crossovers. And Miguel already saw something special in the seldom-used UAAP player, who didn’t make it to the Tigresses’ roster for Season 87 early this year,
“Back in UAAP Season 86, she was mostly a substitute. But once she got drafted by Chery, you could immediately see her strong character just from how she trained,” Miguel told the Inquirer.
“I also felt her hunger to play, especially since she didn’t get to see action in Season 87. And beyond her offensive skills, her passing and floor defense are solid, so she really fits our team.”
The hunger and dedication unlocked the true potential of the Crossovers’ third-round pick in this year’s stacked rookie draft class, as Peñafiel returns to the big stage with her college mentor Kungfu Reyes, serving as Miguel’s assistant.
This time, she has a bigger role as one of her team’s reliable scorers, and she is raring to end a four-year title drought in a winner-take-all PVL on Tour final against the unbeaten PLDT on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Honestly, I’m speechless. It’s been so long since I last experienced reaching the finals, and now that it’s here again, I’m feeling all sorts of emotions,” Peñafiel told the Inquirer.
“But more than anything, I’m just really happy. All the hard work in training, all the challenges we went through, it all paid off.”
Chery Tiggo’s penultimate pick in this year’s draft used to be starstruck by the likes of Ara Galang, Jasmine Nabor, Aby Maraño and other veterans, who are now her teammates at the start of the professional chapter of her career.
“When I first joined Chery, I was starstruck. But they weren’t just helpful as seniors or PVL veterans on the court, they also shared a lot of wisdom off the court. They made my life [easier] and boosted my confidence every step of the way,” said the former Tigress.
It wasn’t easy for someone who was rebuilding her self-confidence after missing Season 87.
But Chery Tiggo’s ‘no superstar’ culture brought out the best in her and turned her into arguably the steal of the draft after emerging as the team’s second-leading scorer behind Cess Robles and seventh best in the tournament with a total of 71 points, tied with Creamline’s Michelle Gumabao.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
She is also one of the preseason’s top 10 spikers with a 30.10 percent attack rate.
“The team has been so easy to be with. There’s nothing else to think about, you just focus on playing and following the system and the game plan,” Peñafiel said.
