MANILA, Philippines – When Ateneo de Manila University coach Oliver Almadro approached Jhoana Maraguinot about possibly returning to play for the Lady Eagles once again, the veteran open spiker had one response.

"Sabi ko, 'Sure ka ba coach?'" said Maraguinot, who will be making her return to the Ateneo women's volleyball team this year after sitting out Season 81.

The Lady Eagles won it all in Season 81, banking on their dominant net defense to frustrate University of Santo Tomas in the finals for their first championship in the post-Alyssa Valdez era. But shortly after their title triumph, Almadro was already thinking of how they could come back even stronger for the next season, when they defended their title.

According to Maraguinot, the coach talked to her just a few days after the Lady Eagles swept the Tigresses in Game 3 of the finals.

"Kinausap ako ni Coach O, and he said na he believes I can still help," said Maraguinot, who scored a total of 203 points when she last played for Ateneo in Season 80 – the sixth highest total in the league that year.

Almadro may have believed in Maraguinot, but the player herself did not share the coach's faith. At the time, she was still trying to recover from a nagging knee injury that had already kept her out of action for almost four months. Even if Maraguinot did decide to return to Ateneo, she couldn't be sure that she would be physically ready in time for the UAAP season.

"Ang tagal kong tumigil, 'di ba?" she pointed out. "So parang, for me, I don't believe in myself anymore."

This, she said, is just one of the reasons that she took her time before making a decision. She wanted to make sure that she was injury-free first, and to Maraguinot's relief, Almadro gave her all the time she needed.

• READ: Jamie Lavitoria returned to be wind beneath young Lady Eagles' wings

"Sabi ko, 'Coach, hindi ako sure kung kaya kong humabol.' Kasi nga, ayaw ko nang madaliin. 'Cause 'yung injury ko, kaya siya balik ng balik kasi minamadali ko siya eh," she explained. "Like, papahinga ako ng isang linggo tapos game na ulit. Tapos after a few weeks, wala na naman. So sabi ko, gusto ko 100% ako once bumalik ako sa court."

"Sabi niya sa akin, okay lang naman. Sabi niya, marami pa tayong oras," she added.

Maraguinot joined the Lady Eagles in training in September. She was blunt when assessing her level.

• READ MORE: Ateneo welcomes back Maraguinot, Lavitoria for Season 82

"'Yung first month ko," she said, "Sobrang zero ako. As in, negative zero."

It is a surprising thing to hear from a player who had served as one of Ateneo's top scoring options in Seasons 79 and 80, once Valdez graduated. But her knee injury had robbed her of some of her explosiveness, and her lack of court time ate away at her confidence.

Maraguinot was grateful that Almadro understood her situation.

"He was very patient naman with me," she said of the coach. "Parang ang laking tulong para mabalik mo 'yung confidence mo sa sarili mo, sa laro, sa court."

"Ang laking bagay na kahit ang tagal mong tumigil, may tiwala pa rin, malaki pa rin 'yung tiwala ng coach sa 'yo. Kahit alam niyang back to zero ka. So I guess 'yun 'yung isa sa reasons kung bakit nag-decide akong bumalik, kung bakit ginusto kong bumalik," she further explained.

Another reason for her return? The chance to play with her younger sister, Jaja. The incoming sophomore is set to be Ateneo's starting setter this season, and this marks the first time that the Maraguinot sisters will get to play together.

It was something they didn't think was possible, because of the age gap between the sisters.

"Eto talaga 'yung dream namin, ever since," said the older Maraguinot. "Siguro, blessing din na nag-decide ako mag-stop last year para for this. Kaya sobrang special din nitong season na ito for us."

"Not just for me, specially to my mom. 'Cause ito talaga 'yung dream niya. Kung may taong nakaisip nito, ever since, siya talaga 'yun," she added.

Jaja, who played as a reserve behind Deanna Wong last season, was completely unsurprised when her older sister decided to return. After all, it was something she nagged Jhoana about for a while.

"Kino-convince ko siya almost every day na, 'O, ano na?' So parang na-feel ko naman din na babalik talaga siya, na gusto niya din bumalik," she said.

Maraguinot is not the only Ateneo veteran to return for Season 82. Kat Tolentino also made an about face from her earlier decision to forego her final playing year, while Jamie Lavitoria is back after missing the last two seasons.

As excited as she is to play for the Blue and White once again, Maraguinot admits that she is not yet at her peak. Physically, she is at 100% -- finally free from the injuries that had hampered her in the past couple of years. Conditioning-wise, however, she said she is just at 60 or 70%.

And the self-doubt that had plagued her last season? It's something that she is still dealing with.

"Siguro mentally, 'di ko masabing 100%, 'cause nandun pa rin 'yung self-doubt," she admits. "Ang tagal, halos isang taon ako wala. I mean, 'yung laro ko puro sa training lang, iba pa rin 'yung competitive."

"Siguro, 'yun na lang 'yung kailangan kong ma-overcome," she adds.

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.