Mangaldan’s pride, volley belle Roselyn Doria

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

VOLLEYBALL diehard followers should know who Roselyn Doria is. Yes, she’s from Pangasinan but only few of them know that she’s from my town Mangaldan. Admittedly, I know that the lass was from Pangasinan taking it from the volleyball game TV annotator who kept on repeating it every time she’s fielded as a middle blocker of National University (NU) and Cignal HD squads, but nothing else mentioned about her hometown that the five-foot-eleven youngster is a native of Mangaldan. It was my first child Jazy who informed me about two years ago when Doria’s name cropped up in the national scene that the NU tall player is a relative of his ex-wife Mylene Doria Garcia who hails from barangay Maasin, Mangaldan where Mylene was also born.

I eventually met the lanky young lady in person last May 16 at Jazy’s house. Roselyn was with her boyfriend the six-footer Richard Santos, her barangay mate and mainstay of the Mangaldan basketball squad that competed thrice in the annual Governor’s Cup Inter-Town/City Basketball Tournament. She brought with her the beautiful glass-trophy which she earned as the “Best Middle Blocker” in this year’s UAAP Volleyball Season ’81. “Best Middle Blocker” is one of the most prestigious awards in any volleyball competition. In basketball, this is equivalent to “Best Defensive Player” award.   

Roselyn, 22, is the second youngest child of five (two sisters and two brothers) of Elena Barrozo and Daniel Doria. She’s proud to say that she graduated from Mangaldan National High School and represented Region 1 in the 2013 Palarong Pambansa held in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Her new alma mater as a tertiary student is National University and one of the marquee players of her school in the UAAP tournaments since 2014 as well as Cignal HD in the commercial league. Because of her sterling performances in the 2019 UAAP Season 81, she’s now included in the list of national training pool of 20 volley belles and  she is confident that she will be selected as one of the national members of Philippine squad to participate in the coming Southeast Asia Games slated on August 31-September 11 to be hosted by our country.

“I’ve been in this sport since 2009. With my ten years experience in this sport  plus my training in Japan and Thailand recently, I’m self-assured that I will be selected in the national squad and I’ll be proud to represent our country in the 2019 SEA Games and other international jousts and be the first from Mangaldan to do this feat in volleyball,” said the proud Mangaldañan Doria.

I agree. And if that happens, she will be the fifth national athlete from Mangaldan after me as a cyclist in 1964, 1975 Asian karate lightweight champion Jaime Aquino who is my barangay mate in Buenlag, 1981 SEA Games silver medalist Emeterio Natavio and 1987 SEA Games gold medalist Alex Moulic Lopez, both cyclists from barangay Guesang. Aquino and family already migrated to Uncle Sam’s land while Lopez migrated to Spain. Aquino and Lopez are now naturalized American and Spanish citizens, respectively.

*                *                *                *

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. REVELATION 21: 6-7

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments