VETERAN volleyball coach Ronald Dulay passed away last Monday night after a long battle with bone marrow disease. He was 48.
Marinerang Pilipina team manager Jed Montero, who played under Dulay at the University of the Philippines, confirmed the demise of the Lady Skippers assistant coach in her Facebook account yesterday.
“It is with deep sadness and great sorrow to announce the passing of our coach, Ronald Dulay,” Montero said. “He has been a great coach, friend, and a father to many in the volleyball community.”
Dulay played volleyball for Far Eastern University in the UAAP where he won three titles in the 90s before making the jump to coaching.
He handled La Salle’s men’s volleyball team and guided the Green Spikers to two crowns in 2001 and 2003 before moving to call the shots for Ateneo in women’s play.
Dulay steered the Charo Soriano-led Lady Eagles to their first Final Four stint in 2007 before he was replaced by Roger Gorayeb.
Former Ateneo standouts Gretchen Ho and Jem Ferrer expressed sadness over the death of Dulay.
“Sad news today,” said Ho in her Twitter account @gretchenho.
“Coach Ron was the one who asked me to come and play for Ateneo, that’s why I was a walk-in for Coach Roger (Gorayeb), who replaced him in 2008. Maraming salamat, coach. You will be missed.”
Added Ferrer on her Twitter account @JemFerrer: “Maraming salamat, coach Ron Dulay sa pagiging tulay upang makapag-aral at makapaglaro ako sa Ateneo.”
Aside from La Salle’s men’s team, the Lady Fighting Maroons, and the Lady Eagles, Dulay also coached Letran’s women’s volley squad in the NCAA.
Dulay served as a member of the Foton and Generika-Ayala’s coaching staff in the Philippine Super Liga before getting the head coaching job with the Smart Giga Hitters in 2018.
Dulay was a deputy for the Philippine national women’s volleyball team under Ramil De Jesus in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, where the team bagged the bronze, and to Francis Vicente in the 2017 edition of the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.
