CAPITAL1 suddenly has a problem many teams would gladly have to deal with.
With Bella Belen already established as face of the franchise, the arrivals of former PVL MVPs Vanie Gandler and Erika Santos now give the Solar Spikers a three-headed offensive monster capable of producing big numbers on any given day.
READ: Gandler, Santos choose to bask in the sun of rising Capital1
Belen carried much of the scoring and floor defending load during her rookie season across two conferences.
But now, instead of relying on just one star, Capital1 has three do-it-all players showing the way.
Of course, having multiple stars also raises one question: how exactly does a team split touches among three players used to delivering the goods?
For now, though, the Solar Spikers’ newest 'Big 3' is not losing sleep over it.
“I think it's a very good problem,” Gandler said.
“I don't think it's something na we need to adjust on. What we need to learn is how to cover for each other. There will be games that I'm struggling more than the others or maybe Bella’s struggling more, so it's really just covering each other's backs.”
Santos, meanwhile, welcomed the idea of sharing the burden.
After spending much of her breakout campaign as one of Cignal's primary options, the former MVP feels relief in knowing she no longer has to shoulder a large chunk of the offense.
“Siyempre, magiging madali ‘yung buhay kasi isipin mo, ‘yung dalawang diagonal na open mo is 20s [‘yung scoring]. So ako, papalo na lang po ako du’n,” she said.
What happens now, Bella?
For her part, Belen, the franchise cornerstone, now embraces a different challenge.
After years of trying to beat Gandler and Santos from across the net, she needs to figure out how to maximize what the three of them can become all together.
“As a competitive player, before na kalaban ko sila, talagang kailangan nasa isip ko na talunin ko sila. Pero ngayon na kakampi ko na sila, iniisip ko na kung paano ko pa iaangat yung level ko in order for me na mag-complement kung ano yung meron din sila at kung ano pa yung pwede nilang ibigay for the team,” she said.
The Solar Spikers may now have three stars sharing one spotlight, but the bigger goal is making sure they find ways to shine together.
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