MANILA, Philippines—Kung Fu Reyes went metaphorical after PacificTown-Army’s classic five-set win over Choco Mucho in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference last Wednesday.
The Lady Troopers outlasted the Flying Titans, 39-41, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-12 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes, thanks to that epic first set that looked like a halftime score in a basketball game.
“Kumbaga sa talaba, patay na kumakapit pa,” said Reyes. “Ganoon kami, hindi kami umaayaw.”
(We’re like oysters because it may be dead but its shells are still shut tight. We’re like those animals we won’t give in.)
“The moment na aayaw ka lalo ka naming pupukpukin, patay na kami pero kakapit kami hanggang sa dulo, up to the last point, up to the last whistle. Once we hear the referee’s long whistle, doon lang kami aayaw.”
(The moment that our opponent gives up that’s when we push the hardest. We’re nearly done but we will hang on until the end, until the last point, until the last whistle. Once we hear the referee’s long whistle, then that’s the only point when we will stop.)
The Lady Troopers, one of the oldest teams in the PVL, tried to match up with the speed of the younger Flying Titans, who flaunt a core of recent graduates from Ateneo led by La Salle legend Manilla Santos-Ng.
This fast pace proved detrimental to the Lady Troopers who fell 0-2 in sets but Reyes said their experience paved the way for them until the final frame.
Jovelyn Gonzaga and Nerissa Bautista exchanged kills that gave the Lady Troopers a 13-11 lead giving them a strong enough bubble in the final moments of the match.
Shannen Palec managed to salvage a point for the Flying Titans but Bautista quickly answered it and an error from Mary Grace Berte eventually handed the Lady Troopers the victory and the 2-0 record.
“Tapos na yung first sets, sa kanila na yun, bawiin na lang namin sa tempo yung mga gagawin namin,” said Reyes. “Ganoon kami ka-proud kahit bugbog na, kahit anong mangyari, diretso kami.”
(The first two sets are over, what we did was take back the tempo. That’s how proud we are of ourselves because even though we’re beat up we came back and stayed to our course.)
“Yun ang Art of War namin, slowly but surely. Nakipagpukupukan kami pero kita niyo naman ang mga ito pinakita na kaya naming sumabay sa kanila.”
(That’s our Art of War, slowly but surely. We went at them and you can see what they showed earlier that they can keep pace with our opponents.)