By: Ernest Tuazon

A childhood dream of playing professionally in the Philippines motivated Filipino-Canadian libero Nathalie Ramacula to apply for the inaugural PVL Draft.

Ramacula’s initial dream was to play in both the UAAP and PVL, but she had to migrate to Canada at 15 years old.

She last played with the University of the Philippines as a resident player when she was 15. She is also one of two Canada-raised aspirants in the upcoming draft, along with Brock University libero Aleiah Torres.

“When I was 15, I was a resident player at UE. Unfortunately, I was going to play in the UAAP, but I had to go to Canada. This is my dream. Since I was a child, this has been my ultimate dream,” Ramacula said.

(C) PVL Images

Not only was her high school career cut short, but her collegiate playing years at Red River College Polytechnic were also limited due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s why the jet-lagged Ramacula went all out in the first-ever PVL Draft Combine to impress the 12 clubs and show what sets her talent apart from the other 46 aspirants.

“The combine is really important because I hope I did great earlier, even though I felt a little bit jetlagged. I arrived three days ago, so I’m still behind on sleep and adjusting to the time. I’m hoping I did my best as a libero,” she said.

Ramacula hopes to give her best as a vocal libero to whichever PVL team drafts her ahead of the draft on July 8 at Novotel.

“I can motivate each one of my teammates and be a vocal libero as well, so I hope I can give my best for the team,” she said.