Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Playing as a starter all her life, Alyssa Valdez admitted that it took time for her to adjust to her role coming off the bench.
“It’s very new to me. I’m not usually inserted for receive and defense, but it was a good experience for me,” she said in Filipino.
But it was a necessary move for Creamline, as the three-time UAAP MVP got a chance to rest as she recovered from a minor right ankle sprain.
“That was originally the plan, to come off the bench. The PTs said that what I needed was just rest and therapy, but I knew that when my number is called, I should be able to perform,” she said.
Valdez, though, struggled mightily, contributing only two points in the Cool Smashers’ sorry five-set defeat to BaliPure, 20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 15-7, Tuesday in the 2017 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
Still, the league’s leading scorer would rather look at Creamline’s defeat as a chance for the team to rectify its miscues going into the quarterfinals, where it will play as the fifth-seed.
“More than the loss, we’re looking at the improvement for all of the players in our team,” she said. “Everyone is adjusting. Ceska (Racraquin) played as a libero today, so there were lots of adjustments we have going to the next round. But the coaches said that we’re showing good signs and what we need is just a small push.”
And Valdez is hopeful that Creamline can apply its learnings from this match to its last game of the eliminations against Perlas Spikers on Thursday.
“We need to play as a team there, correct all our mistakes, and click in the latter part of the game so that we can finish strong,” she said.