KingWhale Taipei coach Teng Yen Min during the championship match against Creamline in the PVL Invitational Conference at Mall of Asia Arena. PVL PHOTO
“The ones that are always on my mind are PLDT’s number 3 and Creamline’s Carlos. They’re always on my mind, they can’t seem to leave my mind,” said Teng through an interpreter after KingWhale settled for silver on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Taipei coach was impressed by Reyes, the conference’s Best Middle Blocker, as KingWhale barely escaped PLDT, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13, in their semifinals match-up on Tuesday, where she also praised George Pascua as a very smart coach.
Carlos, who became a two-time league MVP, delivered 14 points to lead Creamline’s balanced effort and dominated the winner-take-all championship, 25-21, 25-19, 25-8.
Teng admitted it’s their offseason and missed five players, who will play for Chinese Taipei in the AVC Cup. But she’s not saying it as an excuse, as Creamline is really a strong team.
“Creamline to begin with is very strong and maybe the timing was off because in Taiwan we’re currently in our resting season, resting period,” she said. “Whereas with Creamline and the Philippine teams, they’re currently very active and very strong right now. But it’s a learning experience.”
Despite missing their national team players, KingWhale still swept its four semifinal games before falling in the championship match, which makes Teng determined to come back in the PVL next season with redemption.
“This time we’re not complete but I’m really looking forward to playing with Creamline, Cignal, and PLDT once again once we’re complete as a team,” the Taiwanese coach said.
She also hopes that more clubs from Chinese Taipei would be invited in the future after their unforgettable PVL experience.
“I’ve been observing the Southeast Asia games, including the PVL games. But when I joined I realized that it’s really fun and entertaining. I’m hoping that the best athletes of Taiwan can be invited to come here as well,” Teng said.