Alyssa Valdez will not be beside her soulmate Jia de Guzman when the country begins its campaign in the coming volleyball international tournaments, but their bond, built over years of playing together, remains strong and unwavering.
De Guzman has been named team captain of the Alas Pilipinas team and will lead a 14-woman pool featuring four UAAP standouts and 10 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) mainstays.
And for the first time, de Guzman will suit up for national duties without Valdez, who wasn’t given an invite to join the inaugural roster of Alas Pilipinas Women.
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The two former Ateneo standouts built a dynasty with Creamline, lifting the team to five Philippine Volleyball League [PVL] championships after leading the Lady Eagles to back-to-back wins in the UAAP women's volleyball finals.
De Guzman will also be missing the company of fellow Creamline stars Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza, who were invited to join the Alas tryouts, but had to decline as they were scheduled to fly to Spain to celebrate their recent PVL triumph.
After a decorated eight-month stint with Denso Airybees in the Japan V.League, de Guzman admitted longing for what she described as a ‘telepathic’ connection with her fellow Cool Smashers — Valdez in particular — and other former national team stalwarts whom she shared various international stages with through years and tournaments past.
“Even before being called to the national team, ‘yung time ko in Japan na hindi ko kasama si ate Ly (Valdez) and even the other players I’m so used to playing with for a long time, isang na-mimiss ko rin — ‘yung ganung magtinginan lang kami, alam na namin kung ano ‘yung iniisip nu’ng isa,” de Guzman said.
“There are a lot of players that we miss in this lineup, but there are a lot of good players in the Philippines who we know will deliver well when called by the flag. We also miss ‘yung leadership ng seniors namin before but right now, whoever is here, we know will deliver well.”
Changing of the guard
She is looking forward to playing and leading the national team which she would be happy to share all the things she learned while playing overseas.
“Right now, ‘yun naman ang tina-try naming i-form na (strong) connection with this team. So far, even the seniors, sina Dawn (Macandili-Catindig), Sisi (Rondina), Eya (Laure), ate Cherry (Nunag) and Dell (Palomata), ang galing din nilang magdala ng mga bata. Kaya kami Alas Pilipinas, kasi we all have our different strengths na when put together, will bring good results for the country.”
De Guzman added: “It took a while for me to process that na kami na ‘yung seniors ng team, but at the same time, we were raised very well by the seniors in the past when we were the young ones. We’re just doing what they did for us so it’s not that hard to lead this team.”
With a bigger responsibility, de Guzman shared what she considers to be a piece of advice from Valdez dating back to their Ateneo days which still carries the most weight for her to this day.
“Ever since naman magkasama kami ni ate Ly in Ateneo, the first year together, it’s always the same every year. Just do your best, enjoy the game and allow others to shine as well in your presence kasi what better way to inspire the next generation than to be in the best condition to play yourself,” de Guzman said.
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