PVL: Top scoring local Mylene Paat only focused on leading Chery Tiggo to glory

Chery Tiggo’s Crossovers Mylene Paat. –PVL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Mylene Paat is not thinking about winning the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference MVP with her sole purpose in this tournament to help Chery Tiggo regain its lost glory.

The lefty opposite spiker has emerged as the best local player in the elimination round as the lone Filipino in the league’s Top 5 best scorers with a total of 160 points built on 148 spikes, nine blocks, and three aces, sitting at the third spot behind PLDT import Elena Samoilenko and Akari’s Prisilla Rivera, who had 213 and 206 points in eight games, respectively.

But Paat is not eyeing an individual award, which could be her first-ever MVP honor.

“For me, I’m not looking at (the MVP) because my purpose is to help my team. As long as we rise and we win together that already makes me happy,” said Paat in Filipino after drilling 23 points in their  25-20, 18-25, 22-25, 25-16, 18-16 victory over PLDT on Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“If ever I got a bonus from God and of course, the PVL. I will still be thankful,” she added.

The Philippine women’s volleyball team star, who played as an import for Nakhon Ratchasima in the last Volleyball Thailand League season, credited her numbers to coach Clarence Esteban and his coaching staff, who she said are allowing them to reach greater heights.

“Our coaches have been letting us explore our skills inside the court. They are trusting us in whatever we do. At every training, they let us try the things that we want to do. They are not stopping us from pushing ourselves to our limits,” Paat said.

Paat was happy to lead the Crossovers back in the semis after back-to-back eighth-place finishes in the first two conferences. She was also relieved to end a two-game skid before heading to the next round by escaping a PLDT in a tight fifth set duel to finish with a 6-2 card.

“Lagi lang namin sinasabi sa loob ng court na kailangan sa puso’t isip natin, sa atin to. Yung fighting spirit ng team kailangan namin ilabas which is nangyari naman nung fifth set,” she said. (We always tell each other inside the court that we have to put in our minds and hearts that we got this game. We showed the fighting spirit of our team in the fifth set.)

Going back to zero in the semifinal round, Paat vows to have the same mindset in the crucial stage of the season-ending conference as the top two teams with the best records advance to the finals.

“Just like our mindset in the elimination, we’ll take it one step at a time and one game at a time,” Paat said.