PVL: Mylene Paat embraces challenge of being Chery Tiggo’s leader

Chery Tiggo’s Mylene Paat. –PVL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Mylene Paat vows to be a better leader for Chery Tiggo in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference in October.

Coming off an eighth-place finish in their failed title defense in the Open Conference in April, Chery Tiggo suffered another underwhelming stint losing five of its six matches as the last placer of the Invitational.

But those setbacks continue to fuel Paat in improving her leadership for the team that has already missed MVP Jaja Santiago for two straight conferences since winning the PVL Bubble championship in Ilocos Norte last year.

“I’m embracing a new role and taking on a new challenge this conference: being a leader inside and outside the court. I have to lead my teammates through words, through action, motivate them and lead by example on how I perform,” said Paat in Filipino after pouring 15 points in their four-set loss to Creamline on Thursday at San Juan Arena.

The veteran wing spiker needed to step up in carrying the load for the team especially when their key players were sidelined one by one.

Dindin Santiago-Manabat sustained a grade 3 ankle sprain days before the midseason opener that forced her out of the tournament while EJ Laure, Alina Bicar, Justine Dorog, and Buding Duremdes sat out their first two games due to health and safety protocols.

The Crossovers lost their first three games before winning their first game with the return of Bicar and Co. against Petro Gazz in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. They yielded to Army Black Mamba and Creamline in their last two games to finish with 1-5 record.

https://www.facebook.com/inquirersports/videos/1507969642976494

Paat is still proud of how Chery Tiggo played through the circumstances with her teammates like May Luna and Czarina Carandang, who helped her against Creamline with nine and eight points, stepping up.

“I’m very proud of everyone because we really helped each other. We kept on fighting despite playing with a depleted roster to start the tournament,” she said. “This conference we saw players like May (Luna) and Cza Carandang step up. I’ve been observing them in our practices. Hopefully, they can sustain it for the next conference.”

The Adamson standout is putting a premium on defense, receive, and attacking as the things to improve for the season-ending conference with the foreign players returning to the league after three years.

“Defense, receive, and especially our attacks, which we lacked in our games and commit a lot of errors. Those are the things that we have to study and work on,” said Paat.

Paat will make the most of her long overdue break to spend time with her family back in her hometown Pangasinan after a busy past few months representing the country in the 31st  Southeast Asian Games, recovering from COVID-19 before playing in the Invitationals.