Pauline Gaston. PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Pauline Gaston switched her jersey number from No. 9 to No. 22 to pay homage to her father, Fritz, who was a former PBA player.
Gaston on Saturday debuted for her new team toting her new number as she helped Chery Tiggo earn its second straight win in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference after beating Army-Black Mamba, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-12, at Philsports Arena.
The 25-year-old Gaston, who wore No. 9 when she played for Ateneo in the UAAP and her first professional stint with Choco Mucho in the past two PVL seasons, wanted to wear the jersey of her dad, who played for the UTex Wranglers and the Crispa Redmanizer in the 80s winning two championships.
“Because my dad is the athlete from our family. So I want to use him as an inspiration since he played professional basketball. So ako rin. Not everyone gets the chance [to play as a pro],” Gaston said in Filipino.
The outside spiker, who now prefers to be called Pauline, ditching her college nickname Ponggay, said Fritz, also a former Philippine women’s basketball team coach and Games and Amusement Board commissioner, pushed her to chase her dreams to become a volleyball player.
“I kind of owe it to him because never niya ako pinabayaan, and he keeps on pushing me [to keep going] even I tried different sports. He pushed me to follow my dreams. That’s why I’m wearing his number,” Gaston said.
After being benched in Chery Tiggo’s first win of the season against Cignal on Tuesday, Gaston made her much-anticipated debut as a Crossover and she delivered with eight points and seven excellent receptions to provide the spark off the bench.
Gaston is trusting the plans of her new coach Aaron Velez and the skills of her teammates, vowing to stay ready for Chery Tiggo once her number gets called.
Gaston and the Crossovers eye their third win against their fellow unbeaten team, F2 Logistics Cargo Movers, on Thursday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.