Savannah Davison: “The roof is to the sky.” –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
A month into her stint with PLDT in the Premier Volleyball League, Filipino-Canadian scoring machine Savannah Davison has realized two things: The great atmosphere fans give the sport this side of the world, and that “the roof is to the sky” for the High Speed Hitters with her.
And she’s doing all she can to make sure that she is on the same page for the High Speed Hitters to realize their potential.
“I ask [coach Rald Ricafort] maybe 10 questions a day; more than that maybe,” Davison, who is averaging 18 points in the first two games for PLDT in the All-Filipino Conference, said. “I think the depth of it (system), me coming in a little bit later than the other girls, changes a lot.
“He’s been so supportive and communicative throughout the whole process, and I think that’s been the base of making it easy.”
Davison, a former US NCAA Division I standout, had jitters in her debut, not because she had doubts on her game, but there’s “a lot of pressure when you step in front of 14, 15,000 people.”
“The first game definitely took me by surprise,” the high-leaping 5-foot-9 spiker said, referring to a tough loss to sister team Cignal, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, in the inaugurals. “The fans are amazing, so supportive. But when you come from somewhere else, it looks different. I am glad I am all acclimated. I am used to it now and I went into this game (vs Akari) as calm as I could be.”
She shook that off when the High Speed Hitters dismantled Akari with clinical precision three days later and believes that she is on a team that has the tools to go all the way.
“This is only our second game, so the roof is to the sky. There is really no limit. You don’t really know what we’re gonna do come Game 3 or 4,” she said. “I am really excited just to spend more time with the girls. The more we play together, the more we get to know each other.”
With Creamline losing two aces in Jia de Guzman and Ced Domingo to leagues overseas, the tournament seems to be a wide-open one.
Which is why Davison believes that her constant nagging of Ricafort will be the key for her to blossom and help the High Speed Hitters the best she can.
“If you don’t ask questions, you don’t understand. And if you don’t understand, then it disrupts the whole team,” she said with a smile. “So I do what I can and I ask the questions that I can to more understand the system here, the culture here, the way PLDT plays and where they want to be.
“We’re gonna take it day by day. Work hard day in, day out, so its whatever we put in, we put out,” she went on. “And I am really excited to see where that gets us.”