MONTALBAN, Rizal — Choco Mucho import Marlee Smith was left disappointed upon learning that her scheduled PVL debut in the Reinforced Conference opener against Akari will have to wait.
Smith, one of the most sought-after imports in the league, admitted she was let down by the news when team officials informed her about the problem just moments after arriving in the Montalban venue.
READ PVL hits out at PNVF as imports are a no-go
“I felt kind of frustrated at first but it’s okay. It just wasn’t meant to be,” Smith, who made her Philippine debut in the 2025 AVC Champions League with Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima at the Philsports Arena last April. told SPIN.ph.
The PVL-PNVF impasse over the clearance of imports playing in the Reinforced Conference continues to simmer, but the 26-year-old American winger is hoping she can make her debut against Cignal on Saturday at the City of Dasmarinas Arena.
“I’m just preparing for the rest of this week and for what we have to do next week and focusing on moving past this. It’s just one game,” she said.
“I’m not too worried about it. We spoke to the higher authorities. They said that it will be taken care of. We just gotta go practice and work hard, continue to do what we do, that’s all I can do.”
Breaking the import curse
The Flying Titans haven’t had a lot of luck in import-laden conferences. They finished seventh in this conference in 2022 with Azerbaijani ace Odina Aliyeva and ninth in 2024 with Greek spiker Zoi Faki.
Even after just a few weeks of training with the team, Smith has no doubr that she'll be a good fit in a full-strength Flying Titans side that welcomed back mainstays Maddie Madayag, Kat Tolentino and Dindin Santiago-Manabat.
“I feel like I was a great piece to put in the puzzle. I feel like I’m gonna help my team a lot. We all work very hard. I feel like we’re all dedicated and passionate,” Smith said. “As the season goes on, you will see our fire and our determination on the court.”
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