Petro Gazz coach Oliver Almadro. PVL PHOTO
There was a tone in the way Oliver Almadro talked that suggests that he’s grown tired of hearing the question on whether he has an axe to grind against Choco Mucho, his former team.
“That will be a question all the time,” Almadro told the Inquirer over the phone, a day after guiding his new team, Petro Gazz, to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 dismantling of the Flying Titans Thursday night in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference eliminations. “But my motivation—the team’s motivation—is not all about Choco Mucho.”
The colorful Almadro has been dealing with all sorts of flak the past month or so, and he swears that he’s just here to earn a living and impart the knowledge that he has of the sport with whichever team he is handling.
“This [Petro Gazz] team is a champion team. Yes, we lost a few pieces [in the off-season] but we’re trying to figure things out,” he said as he braces for the Angels’ next assignment, Cignal, on Feb. 18. “Our motivation is for us to prove that we have a champion’s heart—and that will be against every team we play.
Trusting the process
“It’s believing in each other and playing as one, those are the characters that will level the playing field for us,” Almadro said when asked if he believes his Petro Gazz crew has the tools to go all the way and beat a team like Creamline, which walloped his Angels in the inaugurals last week.
“Winning championships is a long process. But I have always believed in the process,” he said. “With whatever team, in whatever league, it takes time to gain maturity, to jell, everything. It’s not a one-conference thing.
“I’m not saying that we have to wait that long. But it’s a matter of preparing well and having an excellent mindset,” he went on. “We have to work hard, gain consistency, prepare well and be committed to our craft.”
Petro Gazz lost Myla Pablo but gained a few pieces in return during the offseason.
Almadro is one of those pieces. And he has just one wish when he came aboard.
“I hope that my addition to Petro Gazz is a good thing, that they [his players] can also help me grow as a coach in the same way that I want them to grow as players,” he said. “We need togetherness—that’s part of the process.”
And about the buzz on his transfer?
“It’s just saddening when people put shades into everything,” he said.