WHEN Mich Cobb opted to skip her final year with La Salle back in 2022 to join a young and upcoming Akari side, she knew that it was going to take time until they hit their stride in the talented Premier Volleyball League.
Uncertainties loomed over their heads as the Chargers started to build the squad from the bottom up starting with the coaching staff up to their on-court personnel.
“Wala, kasi ang hirap mag-expect dati kasi hindi pa naman solid ‘yung tao and I know marami pang changes na mangyayari nu’n, [we evan had uncertainties with] the coach kasi we had coach Jorge (de Brito) nu’n,” Cobb told Spin.ph.
“I think start pa lang kasi ‘yun ng getting to know pa kasi siyempre wala pang foundations talaga ‘yung team. Sobrang iba yung expectations ko ngayon siyempre compared to the 2022 team.”
Full Charge
From the looks of it now, Akari’s finally hit full charge.
The Chargers continue to break new ground after taking an unprecedented seven straight wins for the franchise in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference, with their sister team Nxled their latest victims following a 21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 comeback win in their penultimate preliminary round match.
The most number of wins Akari's had in its franchise before this one was five in total.
For Cobb, someone who saw the lowest of lows of the franchise after getting just a combined six wins in their first three conferences, what they’re going through now is a byproduct of all their hard work, all the sacrifices that they never got to see the fruition – until now.
“Me as an athlete naman ever since, I always trusted the process kahit na sometimes, it’s hard to trust [but] ‘yun na lang din naman magagawa mo,” she stated.
“As long as you put in the effort kasi as an athlete, pagpasok mo sa training, gusto mong mag-improve pero marami pang factors besides that eh.”
Charging on
Strong start aside, Cobb knows that it won’t mean a thing unless they go deep in this conference’s playoffs.
The 25-year-old credits newly appointed Japanese head coach Taka Minowa for stabilizing the ship and keeping them on their toes as they expect to face top-tier adversity come the knockout quarterfinals.
She knows where she wants the team to be by the end of this tournament and she promises to continue to work to get there.
“Kami, alam namin ‘yung direction na gusto niyang puntahan and du’n kami as long as we’re gonna work for it,” she said.
“I think they should expect na we’re gonna work for it. Kumbaga ‘yung niche namin ngayon, lalaban kami talaga kami kahit ano ‘yung situation. Hindi namin i-ppressure sarili namin na manalo, ganyan, ganyan.”
For Cobb, the reason they’re here sitting pretty atop the standings is because they worked hard to be here – and she intends to prove it each and every game they play in.
“Kailangan naming manalo in terms of gusto naming i-improve ‘yung sarili namin but expect na lang nila na we’re here because we fought for it.”
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