PVL: Faith Nisperos ‘fulfilled’ as she helps Akari to semifinals
Faith Nisperos and the Akari Chargers in the PVL All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals against Galeries Tower High Risers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Faith Nisperos stepped up for the Akari Chargers as they booked second straight semifinal appearance with another five-set thriller in Game 2 of the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals.
With Ivy Lacsina being limited to eight points, Nisperos filled in the hole with 15 points and 13 digs to survive the gritty HighRisers anew, 19-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 15-12, on Thursday night at Philsports Arena.
READ: PVL: Akari fends off Galeries Tower to advance to semifinals
“As always, we just want to contribute and stay ready. What I like about our team is that no matter who you put in, everyone knows their role. As players, all we need to focus on is staying ready, and that’s exactly what we do all the time,” said Nisperos in Filipino after nailing the series-clinching attack.
Nisperos missed the previous Reinforced Finals run of Akari with Fifi Sharma due to their Alas Pilipinas stint.
Faith Nisperos and the Akari Chargers in the PVL All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals against Galeries Tower High Risers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
This time, the former Ateneo star said she feels fulfilled to help an all-Filipino crew to enter the semifinals, joining Choco Mucho for another round-robin, where the top two advance to the best-of-three finals.
“The first thing I thought when we made it to the semis was ‘wow, we’re really here.’ Fifi and I are both here now,” said Nisperos. “It feels really fulfilling, especially since we were on the sidelines last conference. It inspired us to keep pushing for that moment, and now we’ve made it. But the job’s not finished—we’re still going.”
READ: PVL: Alas Pilipinas stint boosting Faith Nisperos’ confidence
The 25-year-old wing spiker hopes that Sharma will recover quickly before the semifinals on Saturday next week after an ankle injury early in the first set in Game 2.
“I hope she gets better soon. We made it to the semis together, and we both wanted to play for Akari this time,” she said.
With more than a week to recover and prepare, Nisperos and the Chargers will approach the semis without any expectations and continue to fight just like they did in the first round of playoffs after finishing the preliminary round with a 5-6 record.
“I guess the most important thing is that we know our goal. We all understand what we want to achieve, but how we’re going to get there is what we work on every day. It keeps us focused, one game at a time, taking small steps toward our bigger goal,” Nisperos said.
