Eya Laure ends UST stint after 12 years

by EST Team May 25, 2023

UST Tigresses’ Eya Laure. UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Eya Laure kissed University of Santo Tomas goodbye after spending the past 12 years in the school from high school to college.

The Tigresses captain on Thursday made her decision to bid farewell after four seasons in the UAAP women’s volleyball.

It was a hard decision for Laure as she moves on to the next chapter of her volleyball career.

“Kaya siguro up until the last minute, I wanted to find a way to play for one more year. Para akong nakikipag-break sa libu-libong tao and my heart is shattering into pieces. Ang sakit at ang hirap mag mapaalam,” Laure wrote.

The 24-year-old spiker apologized to the UST community after not winning a championship during her three full seasons in college but she is leaving with a grateful heart to her teammates, coaches, and supporters.

“Patawad dahil hindi ko naibigay yung championship na deserve niyo. But more than that, salamat. Parang sasabog ang dibdib ko sa sobrang laki ng pasasalamat na meron ako sa inyo,” she said.

Laure had a stellar first year in 2019 as she emerged as the Rookie of the Year and frontrunner to her Season 81 MVP teammate Sisi Rondina as they brought back UST to the Finals only to fall to the Ateneo Blue Eagles in Game 3.

The former UAAP girls MVP from UST high school, who won a high school title in Season 76, reunited with her sister EJ in 2020 but the tournament was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laure emerged as the back-to-back league best scorer in the past two seasons but the Tigresses were eliminated in the post-season.

UST, which was the No.3 seed in Season 84, fell to Ateneo in the stepladder semifinals last year. Laure and Co. placed fourth in the eliminations in Season 85 but got eliminated by the twice-to-beat and eventual champion La Salle.

LESSONS AND HEARTBREAKS

TEARS OF JOY. Eya Laure and the rest of the UST Golden Tigresses in 2019. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Laure didn’t reveal her team in the Premier Volleyball League but she promises to bring all the learnings from UST for the past 12 years.

“Napakaraming nangyari sa loob ng labing dalawang taon na ‘yun. Inabot na ako ng K-12, pati pandemic dito ko na hinarap at nalagpasan. Napakaraming heartbreaks. Maraming beses na natalo sa games. At napakaraming lessons. Pero ang paborito ko sigurong natutunan ay kung paano magmahal,” the spiker wrote.

“Salamat UST. Yun ang salita na lagi lalabas sa bibig ko simula ng pag tapak ko sa school na to hanggang sa moment na I have to say goodbye sa school a sinamahan ako at hindi din ako sinukuan kahit anong mangyare. Kundi di dahil sainyo hindi ko siguro maabot ang mga pangarap ko,” she added.

“Lagi niyo akong pinupuri dahil sabi niyo mahal na mahal ko ang UST. Pero sana malaman niyo na kayo ang nagturo sa akin nun.

Kaya maraming, maraming salamat! Pangako, kahit saan man ako mapadpad, bitbit ko ang pagmamahal niyo. No goodbyes. Just see you again.”

Imee Hernandez also bid farewell to UST moments before Laure posted. Milena Alessandrini is also leaving the Tigresses after graduating.

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