TURBULENCE struck both Ces Molina and Riri Meneses during a tense contract row back in January that led to their abrupt Cignal departures after three years.
Having gone past all possible legal ramifications of their exit saga over the last eight months, the ‘RiCes’ duo has now reached the light at the end of the tunnel.
Now full-fledged Farm Fresh players, Molina bared riding a roller-coaster of conflicting emotions, as she gets the chance to atone for a shaky start to the year with a stable finish and a fresh new chapter.
“Sobrang hirap talaga. Psychologically, kailangan mong labanan ‘yung mga nangyayari and kung anuman ‘yung nangyari nu’ng past eight to nine months na ‘yun,” Molina told SPIN.ph.
“I’m so happy na nakabalik ako and now, everything feels lighter na. Nakakabalik na ko sa court ulit. Now, meron akong chance na makapaglaro ulit sa first six ni coach [Alessandro Lodi].
“Way, way happier lang after ng nangyari sa’kin before. Mahaba-habang pahinga ‘yun at ngayon na lang ulit ako nakakabalik sa volleyball.”
READ: Farm Fresh finally gets Cignal monkey off its back
The 2023 Invitational Conference MVP went through her career’s noisiest stretch off the court, as volleyball fans online tried to nitpick the aftermath of a shock fallout.
It took a total blackout from any social media activity to block out the noise and criticisms aimed at her and Meneses.
“Talagang social media off, talagang wala. Sobrang saya ko lang na meron talaga 'kong support system with my family and my friends,” Molina said.
“Hinarap ko lang talaga kung ano ‘yung problema. Luckily, nagpapasalamat ako na naayos na.”
Bittersweet homecoming
In her first face-off with her former team, Molina backstopped the Foxies offense with 11 points and six receptions to help pin down the Super Spikers in a 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 sweep on Thursday for the two-year-old franchise’s best start at 2-0.
Taking on the team she had a rocky finish with wasn’t a revenge game in any capacity for her. It was simply another chance and avenue for her to repay Farm Fresh’s trust in giving her a new lease on life in the pros.
“With my new team, I need to show up, mag-train at maglaro nang maayos at mag-contribute dahil I know for sure na kaya naman nila ako kinuha dito sa team is para mag-contribute talaga,” Molina said.
“Alam ko na ‘yung set of players dito sa Farm Fresh is mga young players, so isa na rin siguro ‘yun na dahil veteran player na ako, makakatulong ako kahit papano sa leadership.
“Hindi ko naman kailangang i-pressure sarili ko. I need to do kung ano ‘yung role ko, ‘yung trabaho ko sa loob ng court and to help Eli [Rousseaux] dahil siya ‘yung main woman talaga namin.”
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