Tushova urges teammates to step up: ‘I cannot play on my own’

Capital1 import Marina Tushova was not her usual self and was under a lot of stress when she reset a long-untouched PVL all-time scoring and attacking record, unknowingly.

That was a week ago prior to setting a new ceiling for the books on Saturday night.

This time, she was more aware of her feat.

“I did a good job, we did a good job together, and today I felt like I’m on my game. I didn’t feel like I’m somewhere else,” Tushova said after dropping a 49-point bomb including 46 from attacks to turn the tables on Nxled, 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-6, in the Reinforced Conference.

“I’m just attacking and cannot score, yes sometimes, but I was more comfortable on the court and more confident,” she added after resetting her personal best.

The Russian reinforcement first etched her name in history with 45 points highlighted by 43 attacks against Choco Mucho to erase the previous 44-points by former Akari import Prisilla Rivera two years ago, also opposite Choco Mucho, and the single-game record 40 attacks of Kia Bright, the former import of the defunct Banko Perlas.

“It means a lot. It means that this girl one week ago, it was another girl and it means I’m improving, really,” she said, baring that she just recovered from pulling an arm muscle in practice.

The arrival of Tushova allowed the Solar Spikers to be seen in a new light from being one of the bottom-dwellers, which was expected since Capital1 is just one conference young, to one of the teams to watch out.

In its maiden All-Filipino Conference earlier this year, Capital1 only scored a lone win in 11 games to finish as the 11th-ranked squad.

Now with a 4-2 card in Pool D, Capital1 is just a win shy from reaching its first-ever playoff berth and it can secure the knockout quarterfinal seat in two tries against struggling teams Farm Fresh and Galeries Tower, its remaining assignments.

“We need to work everywhere, physical work, we need to do everything and we do. About my own performance, like what I’m doing, I don’t do anything special for real. I do everything professionally,” the 25-year-old hard-hitter said.

But Tushova knows that she can’t do it alone each time out.

“I hope really that these last two games, I need all of my team to be in. I want all of them to feel that they can score the point. Now, I want to be behind them to help them to feel that someone is here, but please, try to do it by yourself first,” Tushova said. “I hope more girls … will feel like this fire inside, and will improve because after these few games, we’re going to have much harder games.

“It doesn’t matter, like for example, I make 50 points again or something else, but we’ll not win after. I cannot play on my own, I want them to be sure that I’m here so now I want them to try it in the next few games.” INQ