THERE are many reasons why Alyssa Valdez has long been the face of Philippine volleyball, and one of it is because of her impeccable impact, on and off the court.
At the end of the inaugural Premier Volleyball League (PVL) rookie draft in which Creamline secured the services of its lone pick in Fil-Canadian libero-setter Aleiah Torres, 24 hopefuls were left undrafted and became free agents thereafter.
Amid the post-draft frenzy, Valdez went to the back of the draft hall where all 47 aspirants sat for the duration of the ceremony to console all those whose names weren’t called.
In a brief yet special pep talk that the 24 undrafted players will long remember, the Creamline captain shared words of advice she herself took in her own road to volleyball stardom all these years.
“It's just the beginning. This is the first draft, so marami pa silang opportunities na mapupuntahan at mag-oopen sa kanila. Kapit lang, tiyaga lang and work harder and smarter," she said.
Long time coming
Having been part of the PVL since its inception seven years ago, the eight-time champion and three-time MVP was left in awe by how far the league, and Philippine volleyball altogether, has come as it finally institutionalized a rookie draft for the very first time.
“Sobrang tagal but finally, we're all here. Who would've thought na aabot tayo sa ganitong point in our lives also? Being part of the volleyball community, akala natin, maglalaro lang tayo until college, but now, we're really legit na pro with all this drafting.
“We’re just very, very happy for the league itself, we're happy for the players, we're happy for all the team owners, kasi siyempre lahat naman tayo magbe-benefit din dito.
“Ako, napapa-proud ako kasi napaka-successful ng first-ever draft ngayong taon, kaya naman excited na kami sa mga magpapa-draft ulit next year, we're very excited for all of you.”
“I said we all want them to be part of the (PVL) community. They're still part of the community, free agent sila ngayon. I told them this is just a stepping stone for them para abutin’ yung mga dreams nila to be a part of any team in the PVL,” Valdez said
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