PVL: PLDT to help Majoy Baron regain form with Mika Reyes still out

Majoy Baron.–Photo from PLDT High Speed Hitters

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT seeks to help Majoy Baron regain her old deadly form as the High Speed Hitters are missing star middle blocker Mika Reyes for some time due to her recurring shoulder injury in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season.

PLDT on Saturday welcomed Baron from the disbanded F2 Logistics, joining her longtime teammate Kim Fajardo.

Coach Rald Ricafort is thrilled to have Baron, especially disclosed that the reunion of “Taft Towers” will have to wait as Reyes will miss some time after due to her nagging shoulder injury, which she played through in the second All-Filipino Conference.

“Majoy’s arrival is very timely because Mika is still recovering from a shoulder injury,” Ricafort told INQUIRER.net in Filipino.

Like Fajardo, who seeks a resurgence at PLDT, Ricafort vows to provide an opportunity for Baron to rediscover her scoring and blocking touch.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to help Majoy get back her old conditioning that will surely help the team,” said Ricafort. “From the time we arrived here at PLDT, we’ve been giving players the opportunity to regain their conditioning and confidence and get back to playing at a high level.”

“It’s a big challenge but we’ll do our best to help our new players,” he added.

Majoy Baron.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The former UAAP Season 79 Most Valuable Player out of La Salle, who spent the last eight years with F2 Logistics, is eager to learn under a new system from a new set of coaches and teammates.

“I’m coming into the PLDT team as a student of the sport. Hopefully, I ace this challenge as well,” Baron said.

The 5-foot-11 Baron will also team up with Dell Palomata, solidifying the frontline of PLDT.

“Everything I learned from La Salle and F2, is going to expand because I’m in a new system, which makes me really excited. Every new coach and every new teammate, I intend to learn from them,” she added.

Baron, a former Philippine women’s volleyball team player who won two Best Blocker awards in the 2019 Asean Grand Prix, won three championships with La Salle in the UAAP — she won her first title in Season 78 with Reyes and Fajardo.

The 28-year-old middle blocker also won an MVP in the defunct Philippine Superliga and a couple of championships with the Cargo Movers.

PLDT, which is set to introduce Kianna Dy as their next signing to join Fajardo and Baron, reached the semifinals in the first two conferences of the 2023 season but missed the second All-Filipino Conference after falling short with a 7-4 record in fifth place.