WHILE Bella Belen is all set for her long-drawn debut as a pro player with Capital1, this won’t necessarily be her first PVL rodeo.
A young Belen still learning the ropes at National University-Nazareth School was once tapped to join the league’s 2018 Reinforced Conference under champion team Balipure’s name.
Balipure-NU finished sixth in the eight-team field with a 3-4 (win-loss) record in the preliminaries and a 2-3 card in the single-round robin quarterfinals.
That big of an experience at 15 years old, even if the PVL wasn’t a pro league yet, felt like learning how to walk when everyone else was already running miles ahead of her in a veteran-laden league.
“Super bago talaga siya that time ‘yung experience na ‘yun kasi bagets pa ko. Pero at a young age, I’m thankful din na nakapaglaro na ako sa PVL. Marami na agad akong natutunan sa league na ‘to,” Belen shared with SPIN.ph.
“Iba pa rin ‘yung ngayon eh. Mas mataas na ‘yung level of competition.”
Not knowing she was bound to become one of the country’s fastest-rising volleyball stars years later, Belen didn’t even have the foresight of becoming a full-time PVL player back then as she felt she was too far off from the league’s standards then.
“Siguro hindi pa that time. Hindi pa naman professional volleyball league din noon dati so hindi ko pa nakikita ‘yung self ko dati kasi hindi pa naman ako ganun ka-skillful talaga. Sa NU lang ako naging okay maglaro,” Belen said.
Her ultimate starstruck moment was against no less than her fellow three-time UAAP MVP whom she even shares the same June 29 birthday with.
“Sina ate Alyssa Valdez talaga, ‘yung Creamline. Naaalala ko pa rin at fresh pa sa memory ko ‘yung game namin against them,” Belen said.
The Cool Smashers expectedly took down a Balipure side of high school players that even had the likes of Alyssa Solomon and now-PVL mainstays Ivy Lacsina, Jen Nierva, Cess Robles, Faith Nisperos and Rose Doria among others.
It was a 22-25, 18-25, 16-25 Balipure loss that had Belen score just one point.
One last ace on the deck
Seven years later, Belen finds herself in a position where she’s the only name left from the 2025 draft class to not suit up for her new team.
In this case, it’s cellar-dwelling Capital1 that Belen will soon add much-needed firepower too come the 2025 Reinforced Conference — the same conference she made her PVL debut in seven years ago.
Pressure’s a given for sure, but after being held back from debuting with Capital1 on time by Alas Pilipinas duties, the excitement levels are through the roof for the No. 1 overall draft pick.
“Ako na lang din po kasi ‘yung rookie na na-draft na hindi pa rin nakakapaglaro,” Belen said.
“More on excitement din talaga ‘yung nararamdaman ko sa kung paano ako maglalaro with my new team and against my former teammates and former coach.
“Hindi naman din talaga super nakaka-pressure kasi kailangan ko lang mag-perform nang maayos, kung paano ako nagpe-perform sa training namin, para mahigitan ko pa ’yung performance ko nu’ng UAAP.”
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