PVL: Cha Cruz-Behag, back after 4 years, savors triumphant return
Cha Cruz-Behag. PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Cha Cruz-Behag relished her first game back after a four-year hiatus but she admitted she still has a lot of work to do.
Behag checked in the third set and stayed for the remainder of the five-set game, finishing with only three points but her on-court leadership made a huge impact in F2 Logistics’ nail-biting 25-22, 25-21, 14-25, 20-25, 16-14 victory over PLDT in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at Philsports Arena.
“Personally, it’s a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. I was gone for four years but now I’m back,” said Behag in Filipino after her first game for F2 Logistics since the 2018 Philippine Superliga.
“But I think I still need to work double time every day and I’m really trying my best in training to get my form back. I had a lot of errors,” she added.
Behag faced a tough test right away in her return but knows it was the kind of game she and the Cargo Movers need to further improve.
“Well, as a team, we feel like it’s a good challenge for us. We still have a lot of things to polish as a team. But we’re happy. A win is a win, but there are a lot of lapses that we need to improve,” Behag said. “This is just the start of the conference. We will still go through a lot and we’ll face more club teams.”
“We will continue to grind every day and work on the things we need to improve.”
F2 Logistics’ new coach Regine Diego, who was Behag’s teammate in La Salle in UAAP Season 72 in 2009, decided to leave “Ms. Everything” on the floor for the remainder of the game.
“Of all the people in F2, Cha and Aby [Marano] were my longtime teammates. So I trust that they know what to do, because they’re mature already. They have the leadership skills,” said Diego.
Diego’s decision to lean on Behag and Aby Marano paid off as they avoided a late collapse.
“My decision was right to keep them in the crucial [moments of the game]. I know that they will lead the team properly. I’m happy that I have so many leaders in my team now,” the youthful coach said.
Behag and the Cargo Movers eye their second win against the Akari Chargers on Saturday at the same venue in Pasig City.
