Noel Kampton Has One Final Goal With DLSU For UAAP Season 87 

Noel Kampton promises to give it his all as he puts on the DLSU jersey for one last UAAP Men’s Volleyball season.

Since debuting for the DLSU Green Spikers in 2022, Noel Kampton has become an integral part of the team’s rise to contention in the UAAP’s post-pandemic era. 

As a newcomer in Season 84, Kampton and batchmate Vince Maglinao finished with a bronze medal in the Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament, before proceeding to help DLSU make its first indoor Final Four appearance in nine years for Season 85. 

After another Final Four appearance in Season 86, Kampton is now in the midst of his last dance with the Green Spikers for Season 87. And as he represents the Green and White for the final time, the 24-year-old has a goal to raise their winning standards further. 

“Gusto ko talaga na mag-podium finish kami! Kasi ilang years na kami nabibigo eh, so sana mag-podium finish kami,” he told The GAME following their first UAAP Season 87 victory against the Adamson Soaring Falcons last February 22. 

The Green Spikers actually finished eliminations as the third seed in Season 86 and could have copped the bronze despite losing to the NU Bulldogs in the Final Four. However, an upset to the top-seeded FEU Tamaraws meant that Kampton and DLSU would finish in fourth place for the second straight year.

And while his goal remains clear, the 24-year-old knows that Season 87 won’t be any easier for the Green Spikers, especially with podium finishers NU, UST, and FEU still parading fairly intact lineups.

“Syempre step by step muna kasi lahat ng teams gusto naming matalo, pero mahirap din ‘yun kasi lahat ng teams din gusto manalo. So talagang pagandahan ng gising,” he said. 

As a senior, Kampton admits that he’s still transitioning to his leadership role, having gotten used to the guidance provided by seniors JM Ronquillo and Billie Anima throughout his first two seasons. 

“Siguro, kahit ‘yung mga nasa tight situation kami, ‘yung mga kakalma kami kasi [against Adamson] parang nasa chokehold na kami na nataranta na kami, nabablangko na ako. So ‘yun, gusto ko ma-improve ‘yun,” he admitted, referring to their tight Set 2 contest against the Falcons.

Believe it or not, the 24-year-old is also in the process of re-establishing his place within head coach Jose Roque’s system due to his Alas Pilipinas commitments. Inevitably, the Green Spikers continued their offseason preparations for Season 87 while Kampton trained overseas as a national team spiker.

It wasn’t until the V.League Collegiate Challenge in October that Kampton returned to DLSU, which was already fielding solid additions including former NU spike MJ Fortuna. 

“Pag galing ko sa Alas non, nung pumasok ako sa DLSU iba ‘yung tono diba? Nag-adjust din ako sa team tas ‘yung mga rookies namin maganda nilalaro…Somehow pangit pakinggan, pero parang napa-pangit ko ‘yung sistema nila kasi pumasok ako doon ng buo,” Kampton shared. 

“So sabi ko, ‘Coach [Roque], bawi ako sayo!’ So hopefully talaga ito, tuloy tuloy na ‘yung sync namin for [Season 87]…Ang tagal ko rin, parang almost three or four months din ako wala sa DLSU.” 

Kampton, though, knows that his Alas Pilipinas stint gave him newfound confidence for Season 87, having faced more physically gifted opponents during the national team window. 

“Grabe kasi talaga ‘yung training namin don tsaka ‘yung mga exposure, like ‘yung naglaro kami sa Italy, medyo kahit papaano hindi ako natatakot sa mga kalaban,” Kampton recalled, referring to their training camp in head coach Angiolino Frigoni’s native Italy. 

“Don’t get me wrong ha, pero kasi ‘yung mga kalaban ko kasi malalaki, malalakas so pagadating ko dito sa [Pilipinas], sabi ko kaya ko naman ‘to. Pero of course, ‘di rin naman all the time maganda ‘yung laro ko.” 

And as Kampton embarks on his last dance with the Green Spikers, he also hopes to repay the trust given to him by his coaches to lead the team to even greater heights. 

“Si coach [Roque] parang tatay ko na ‘yan eh! Tanungin mo siya, lagi kami ‘nag-aaway’, kasi nagka-clash kami sa training! Pero in the end, sabi niya nga, nagtitiwala siya sakin so magtiwala din ako sa kanya and ‘yun ‘yung connection na maganda namin,” he said.

Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.