THE SEARCH for the next UST courtside reporter has led to a model-turned-beauty queen.
Meet Ma. Kristina Marasigan, 23, a Psychology graduate and a finalist in the prestigious Ford Supermodel of the World competition in 2009 and Bb. Pilipinas in 2011.
Marasigan, who works at DZMM Teleradyo, will replace Patricia Cansana in bringing news straight from the Growling Tigers’ bench and dugout.
“The pressure is high,” said Marasigan, who earned her degree two years ago. “But I’m looking at the pressure as a challenge to be good and I’m really glad that they gave me this responsibility and opportunity.”
Marasigan went through a stringent selection process by ABS-CBN Sports, which sought help from the Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. to expand the search for UAAP courtside reporters last summer.
Marasigan said she was first hesitant to accept the job because “sports is totally new for me.”
A former corporate assistant, she went ahead anyway and considered the job as an opportunity to improve her career as a broadcaster. She said she wanted to take up Communication Arts or Journalism in UST in college, but was discouraged by her mother owing to the rampant killing of journalists.
“Broadcasting is my first love,” she said. “But now, even though I did not study that course, the opportunity to fulfill my dreams of being a broadcaster knocked before me.”
Marasigan acknowledged that her being an alumna might be criticized, given the idea that UAAP courtside reporting is exclusive to students.
“I know that this will be an issue for those who auditioned for the job, especially those who are current students,” she said.
“But I want to explore the other side of what I do aside from the corporate job. This is so new to me but still, I’m getting the challenge because I don’t want to disgrace ABS-CBN sports which convinced me to do this.”
In a phone interview, ABS-CBN Sports’ director Abet Ramos said that UAAP opened its doors for alumni courtside reporters as long as they came from UAAP schools.
To boost her sports reporting, Marasigan said she would get tips from the Tigers’ main man Jeric Teng and former courtside reporter Dianne Querrer.
“I’m still not familiar with basketball terms, but I still have time to prepare,” she said.
Marasigan said she wants to make her own mark with an “energetic but sophisticated” style of reporting.
“I’m doing my job not for the sake of doing a show. It should not be you. It’s about the people who will be seeing, listening, trusting you,” she said. Chenny V. Ramos
