Cignal’s Rachel Ann Daquis. PVL MEDIA BUREAU
MANILA, Philippines — Rachel Anne Daquis brought back her iconic jersey No. 3 to show her rebirth in Cignal’s redemption season in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference.
Donning her jersey number back in her UAAP days, which was immortalized by Far Eastern University, Daquis delivered vintage performance leading the HD Spikers in stunning defending champions Chery Tiggo Crossovers, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18, on Wednesday evening at Paco Arena.
The 34-year-old, who struggled with her team’s 10th place finish in last year’s PVL bubble, had 14 points built on nine attacks, four blocks — highlighted by a rejection on Volleyball Thailand League’s Best Scorer Mylene Paat–and an ace to start the 2022 season on a high note.
“Rebirth. I am happy to bring back my jersey number three. this is my lucky number and I had a great career wearing this with FEU,” Daquis said shortly after their big win. “My previous jersey number 13 was lucky too. I just wanted to feel the younger Rachel and my rebirth that’s why I brought this back.”
“Age is just a number,” she added.
Cignal head coach Shaq Delos Santos was proud of how Daquis outwitted the defending champion led by Paat, who had an impressive global stint as Nakhon Ratchasima’s import.
“I am so proud of Rachel. She continues to play at a high level at her age. She showed a great effort in stopping Mylene, who is all out every game,” Delos Santos said.
But more than her lucky No. 3, Daquis is blessed to have her new teammates Ces Molina, Angeli Araneta, Ria Meneses and Gel Cayuna, who all played big roles in taking down the reigning Open Conference champion.
“We are so lucky to have our new players. They are mature enough and didn’t need a lot of adjustments in joining our team. Luckily, some of them were our past teammates like Ces in Petron,” she said.
Daquis insisted there is nothing to celebrate much after their first win since there are still several things to work in their team as they are slated in the dangerous Pool A, where they will battle F2 Logistics (1-0) on Sunday, idle Choco Mucho and Black Mamba-Army (0-1) on March 24.