The Philippine School Doha held tryouts for its volleyball varsity teams, the Mighty Oryx and Lady Oryx, on September 1 and 2, followed by the basketball varsity, the PSD Falcons, on September 5 at the EVB Gymnasium — showcasing PSDian athletes’ skills and determination. Through the coaches and current players, participants underwent a series of drills designed to test their skills, abilities, and camaraderie. 

The Mighty Oryx dived straight into their tryouts—beginning with stretches and running laps across half the court to warm up before moving on to more drills. Applicants and players alike formed teams, which challenged their offensive and defensive prowess and ability to work under pressure in a team. The rallying allowed participants to show their skills in serving, spiking, and blocking against impactful hits from the opposing side. The coach of the Mighty Oryx, Dr. Nival Ostan, huddled with the applicants to provide feedback on the match and their performance after every round. 

The final part of the tryouts featured a match-up between the best of the applicants versus the current Mighty Oryx players. This year’s batch of applicants performed the game by meeting the standards of the Mighty Oryx. Sir Ostan stated that the chosen players were selected because they knew the sport.

The Lady Oryx took a more technical approach to the tryouts. Players of the varsity team led the girls through a series of warm-up stretches before diving into receiving tests and setting practices. Sir Noel Casundo, the Lady Oryx's coach, provided tips as they moved through the drills. As the tryouts progressed, applicants and players were grouped to test their skills and team synergy. 

Coach Noel praised the performance of the applicants.  “So far, I liked the turnout of the screening because many of the new members knew what to do this year,” He remarked. He also explained his plans to include tiers such as Varsity A, Varsity B, Junior Varsity, and a Training Pool for the Lady Oryx to maximize the players' potential. 

Lady Oryx captain Kaitlin Skye Cruz also expressed her surprise at the talent among the younger students. “I felt surprised because the students who mostly tried out were from the lower levels, especially the Junior High School, and their level of skill could be considered as high,” she shared. 

The PSD Falcons held their tryouts, utilizing friendly matches to evaluate each player’s skill level and team cohesion. The best applicants went up against the current Falcons roster to further demonstrate their shooting, defending, and play-making skills, as the Falcons anticipated.

Naizer Hassan expressed his gratitude towards the players by saying he was grateful to whoever joined the tryout. Even though it may be a win or lose for them, I am happy because they share their love for basketball with us.”   

Although only some were selected among the new Varsity athletes, the students still demonstrated sportsmanship and respect for one another throughout the process. PSD Falcons’ head coach, Michael Comia, highlighted that those who opted to enter PSD’s varsity should show their best. And be a role model to the other students. Mr. Comia concluded that the tryouts were a great opportunity for PSDians to showcase their athletic prowess.