STAR spiker Gretcel Soltones played her heart out as she led San Sebastian to a 25-22, 25-19, 26-28, 25-23 win over Benilde in Game Three of the NCAA women’s volleyball championship on Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan.
The 20-year old Catmon, Cebu native, who copped her second consecutive MVP award, had a dominant performance on the court as she had extra motivation following her reunion with her estranged mother, Marilyn Mollena, who she had not seen for over a decade.
[See Back-to-back NCAA MVP Gretcel Soltones reunited with mom after 13 years of separation]
“Nagulat ako sobra kasi (ang tagal) ko na siyang hinahanap, tapos ngayon nakita ko na siya,” said Soltones.
Though their reunion was cut short due to the game at hand, the mother and daughter met at around 1 p.m. and the game was at 4:00 p.m, Soltones was still glad that even for a short while she was able to see her mother.
“Sobra (gumaan ang pakiramdam ko) pero may konti pang mga tanong na hindi pa niya nasasagot kasi kapos din kami sa time eh,” she said.
“Kasi mas importante ‘to (game) sa akin kesa sa kanya, kasi pinagtrabahuhan ko ‘to eh, kaya dyan lang muna siya at least nakita ko na siya, ok na ako doon, wala na akong ibang hihilingin pa,” she added.