By
Tricia Robredo
May
28, 2015 / 09:39 AM
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“Hindi naman po kasi pang habang buhay yung volleyball. Pero sa pagsali ko sa Army, makakalaro pa ako ng medyo matagal habang meron akong stable na trabaho. Kung mainjure ako halimbawa o pag tumanda na, at least may trabaho pa rin.” --- Tin Agno
Once doning gold
and green for alma mater Far Eastern University, Libero Christine Agno moves
forward as Private Tin Agno, a soldier-athlete for the Philippine Army.
The Tamaraw’s Throwback
The former Lady
Tamaraw described her last playing year in the UAAP as a big roller coaster
ride. Full of ups and downs and twists and turns, “paarang papasok sa tunnel na
madilim tapos lalabas ulit sa liwanag”. The FEU squad overcame a lot of hurdles
just to get into the Final Four but fell short in their do-or-die stepladder
match against third place finisher NU Lady Bulldogs.
Despite bowing out
the competition a little earlier than she would have wanted, Tin Agno still
exited the collegiate scene with the Best Libero honors – a distinction she
hardly expected to receive. “Target ko lang naman talaga kasi nun (ay)
makatulong sa team. As a senior, inuna ko lang yung roles and responsibilities
ko para mainspire rin yung mga bata.” And that’s what probably made her very
effective. Tin shared that she wanted to lead by example; so back when she was
making those excellent digs and buwis buhay saves, she was hoping to bring out
from them the same, or an even better, brand of defense.
Team Pilipinas: The U23 Experience
Having been
recognized for her defensive specialties during her collegiate years, Tin Agno
was recruited as the lone libero of our country’s U23 women’s volleyball team,
which competed in the Asian Championships last April.
However, unlike in
her UAAP stint the previous season, she was on the receiving end of critics
this time around. “Nakikita ko rin naman po yun. Lalo na sa Twitter dahil yung
iba tinatag pa ako.” Tin admits to have felt deeply saddened by some of the
things she has read online, saying that it hurts more that they came from
fellow Filipinos. But you know what? She is still very gracious about it! “Pero
naintindihan ko naman. Siyempre lahat natin gustong manalo. So nirespect ko
nalang po opinyon nila.”
Private Tin Agno
Even after
wrapping up her Under 23 duties for the Philippines, Christine has yet to
perform several more duties for the country in the next couple of years – as a
volleyball player and as a full-fledged member of the Army! Now before you get
crazy thoughts, she reassured us that she wouldn’t be sent to wars exchanging
rifles and arms. But she will have a regular office job in the forces.
After joining the
Lady Troopers in the summer of 2014, Tin Agno was inspired by her teammates to
push through with her enlistment. She talks about how she has come to terms
with the reality that there is a limit to playing the sport she loves. “Hindi
naman po kasi pang habang buhay yung volleyball. Pero sa pagsali ko sa Army,
makakalaro pa ako ng medyo matagal habang meron akong stable na trabaho. Kung
mainjure ako halimbawa o pag tumanda na, at least may trabaho pa rin.”
Aside from
practicality, Tin is also having the time of her life playing with her fellow
Privates in the service. Contrary to what some people may imagine, Army
training is not all stiff, strict and scary! “Masaya sobra. Lahat talaga
nag-eenjoy tapos tawanan lang lagi. Lalo na kapag sina ate, kasi medyo may edad
na yung iba sa amin, hinihingal na sa ensayo (laughs). Nakakatuwa tapos
nakakainspire rin tingnan.”
The Army Lady
Troopers are going up against the PLDT Home Ultera Spikers on Sunday, May 31,
for Game 3 of the Shakey’s V-league finals. They drew first blood in the series
but fell to powerhouse Ultra Spikers in Game 2, forcing a do-or-die match for
the 12th conference
title.
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Image by: Richard Esguerra
