PVL: Mylene Paat says team effort key to Chery Tiggo’s hot start

Mylene Paat. PVL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Despite her brilliance that has led to Chery Tiggo’s 2-0 start, Mylene Paat attributed the Crossovers’ fine play in the PVL All-Filipino Conference to her teammates.

Paat, the Reinforced Conference MVP, who has been embracing the team captain role since October last year, has emerged as the early scoring leader so far with a total of 41 points built on 35 kills with five blocks and an ace to boot.

But Paat stressed she didn’t lift the Crossovers to their first two wins alone, deflecting the credit to her teammates.

“I always say that I wouldn’t have gotten those points without the help of my teammates,” said Paat, who had 22 kills and four blocks in their 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-12 victory over Army-Black Mamba on Saturday at Philsports Arena.

“[In this game] our opponents had to be wary of Pauline, our middles, and the rest of the team because the ball was well distributed.”

In their straight-set win over Cignal on Tuesday, Shaya Adorador came out of her shell, being the team’s top scorer with a game-high 16 points. Paat tore Army apart with the season’s best scoring performance so far and received ample help from the debuting Pauline Gaston, Cza Carandang, and EJ Laure with setter Alina Bicar executing the plays of coach Aaron Velez.

“Anyone from our team can score. And I think our advantage is our fighting spirit inside the court. It just boils down to how we will attack the ball and approach the set plays,” Paat added.

The lefty opposite spiker also lauded Gaston, who contributed with eight points and seven excellent receptions off the bench in her debut as a Crossover.

“The way I see it [Pauline] is getting matured at the same time she is jolly inside the court, boosting our morale. Knowing her, she will deliver when she enters the court but aside from her talent, she also pushes us even she is on the bench by saying, ‘Nice one Ate My, nice block Ate My,’” said Paat.

Gaston, who was benched in the first game but made an immediate impact in her debut against Army, is honored to team up and to be led by her idol, Paat.

“Even before I moved to Chery, Ate Mylene is one of the players I look up to.  When we had the bubble in Ilocos, I took the opportunity to be closer to her. I have a lot of volleyball players that I look up to, and I can see [her] as my mentor,” Gaston said. “Before joining them, I knew that someone will take care of us and the team was super welcoming when I arrived. I feel like I fit right in — girls, coaching staff, everything.”

Paat knows Chery Tiggo, which is tied with Creamline and F2 Logistics in first place, still has a long way to go.

Chery Tiggo and F2 Logistics clash on Thursday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.