Be the Bomb

BY JONNA MAE BAGASBAS

Behind her talent and swarm of exclusive awards and special recognitions, therein lies the clandestine story of a UNCean who now transpired to be one of the most outstanding players of Philippine volleyball.

Grazielle Berdin Bombita, a 5’9 open/outside hitter, became remarkable due to her explosive spikes and blazing attacks igniting like a bomb which led her to greater ascendance in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL). But this 30-yearold conversant already arised making a name for herself way back in 2016 when she joined the Iriga City Oragons as the team captain.

Humble Beginnings

At the age of eight, Grazielle marked her first indulgence for her beloved sports when she spent early days in Tambang Central School and National High School at Tinambac, Camarines Sur. Like any other budding volleyball player, she grew up playing amateur games and wall passing drills. “Nakikisali ako sa training ng High School lagi and nanghihiram ako lagi ng bola kay Sir Olarve para makapag-walling ako sa bahay,” Graze shared.

Coach/Sir Olarve is the person who introduced the sport to Graze — a man whose motivation pushed her beyond her limits. No matter what the circumstances, this young star would come into the training of the high school boys and girls. “Inaabangan ko lagi training nila noon and kahit maulan go padin sa paglalaro kahit nakayapak go padin sa paglalaro. Sobrang saya ko kapag naglalaro ako ng Volleyball. And ganun ko kamahal ang volleyball hanggang ngayon,” Graze affirmed.

Greyhound Spirit

Paving the way for her refined passion, Grazielle’s younger self grew further her interests by joining the UNC Volleyball Team in 2007 while undertaking a course in the College of Business and Accountancy. Aside from being a hard worker student with a BSBA major in financial accounting, she pursued her sports and played several competitions including the 2011 PRISAA National Games in Zamboanga City which is her most memorable game with the team.

When the no. 7 Greyhound varsity player graduated in 2012, she considered it as her first success in the field of volleyball. According to Graze, giving her 101% in every game serves as a real strength and using her weaknesses as a motivation requires acceptance while learning and unlearning things to revamp oneself.

But if there’s one thing that the UNC team contributed to her ultimate growth, “Always be grateful. And saan ka man makarating don’t ever forget the people who helped you,” Graze expressed as she reminisced about her life as a student athlete. “You should have a constant reminder of where you want to go and what you want to achieve. Be confident ika-nga FAKE it until you MAKE it. Be disciplined sa kinakain and ginagawa. Invest in yourself. Believe in yourself, focus on your goal, and always do your best and just have fun! And lastly, do what is right, not what is easy,” she added to encourage the UNCean athletes who are now facing challenges due to the pandemic.

Time to Shine

In the year 2016, Graze chased another extra mile to reach her dream by joining the Iriga Lady Oragons. Her team returned to PVL during the reinforced and open conference in 2018 where she led them acting as a team captain. Despite not securing a final four spot, she played clench to drag Iriga-Navy to its prime backto-back sweeps in the PVL Season 2.

The Bicolana spiker soon joined the BaliPure Purest Water Defenders in 2019 where she exhibited the veteran demeanor for a youth-laden core and caused a compelling improvement from their underdog campaign in the reinforced conference. She emerged to be a key player during her first stint with BaliPure in the PVL Season 3 by ending a 12-game losing streak, evading Air Force.

Before the 2019 PVL Open Conference reached its end, Graze committed to play for Motolite. But when Motolite folded due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bombita was courted by three various teams and ended up with BaliPure, the team where she started off her career in the Premier Volleyball League.

She earned Player of the Game by recovering from an upheaval to outplay a Chery Tiggo side bannered by national team star Jaja Santiago during the 2021 OVL Open Conference. Graze sparked the late-game rally from a 1-2 set deficit with 24 points. With her explosive performances in the concluded conferences, the pride of UNC and Iriga City surprised many supporters and people who just learned of her glaring talent for volleyball.

Bethe

Man Behind her Glory

Growing up, Graze has always been reminded of several valuable lessons from her father, Natividad Bombita Jr., who unleashed the potential and molded her humble figure. He continuously advised her that family is essential who can always lend a shoulder when needed. “He always helps other people, and tries to do the right thing no matter what is the cost to himself. He makes sacrifices for the people he loves,” Graze proudly conveyed, recalling the goodness of her late father.

She also added that he taught her to embrace imperfections and unconditional acceptance. After everything that happened to her in the real battlefield of life, those words brought so much courage to fight her obstacles, “It made me understand what life is about,” she concluded.

Athlete Equals Better Person

Beyond the great opportunities of having a fit and healthy life, building friendships and career, Graze emphasized that being an athlete greatly improved her mental health. “Dito ako natuto na kahit maiyak ka na sa pinapagawa sayo, pipiliin mo pa rin ipagpatuloy or tapusin kasi mahal ko iyong ginagawa ko, kasi gusto ko iyong ginagawa ko, kasi masaya ako sa ginagawa ko. Kasi ito iyong passion ko,” she exemplified.

Realizing that every person is only as strong as his/her weakest link, Graze took a lot of determination and discipline to bear these in her mind. If someone uses failure as an opportunity to learn, then they can go farther and become even more successful, “Okay lang pala na magkamali kasi ibig sabihin sinubukan ko, at iyon ang mas importante,” Graze stated.

She also mentioned how being an athlete enhanced her time-management skills, sense of respect and humility for everyone. “Hindi ko makakalimutan iyong mga taong tumulong, naniwala, sa kakayanan ko. But above all, you need to believe in yourself - kailangan mo talagang pagtrabahohan and pag tiyagaan [lahat],” she hinted.

Future Plans

The Bicolana pride is set to enter a new chapter in her career together with Cignal HD Spikers. She became an addition to the squad to strengthen its lineup ahead of 2022 PVL season. Believing that her dream of becoming a champion is within reach, Graze hopes to help her newly-found home which recently finished 10th in the PVL Open Conference last August with one win and eight losses.