FROM supporting her “ate” from the stands to now sharing the same court, it all came full circle for Faith Nisperos when she and the Akari Chargers put up a formidable fight against Alyssa Valdez and the defending Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference Champions Creamline Cool Smashers.
Faith Nisperos vs Alyssa Valdez
After the much-anticipated contest, the 23-year-old bared that it was an honor playing against her childhood idol.
“Syempre, going into today’s game, I was excited. Kasi dating pinapanood ko lang, makakalaro ko na. So I was very excited and at the same time of course challenging yun for me. Kasi, sa sarili ko naman, now that I’m here at the same stage as her, ano pa yung mapapakita ko,” said Nisperos.

Despite falling in four sets to the Cool Smashers, Nisperos showed her eagerness to prove that she belonged in the biggest stage by leading Akari with 18 points.
The former Ateneo star’s performance even gained plaudits from the phenom herself.
“It's just so nice to see her perform and really play well in today’s game. Kaya naman, I can’t wait for her to actually pahirapan pa ang ibang teams sa PVL,” confessed Valdez.
She added: “Despite na hindi ko naabutan si Faith [in college], I’ve been cheering on Ateneo and her during those times. It’s also nice na kahit papano nagkaabot kami dito sa professional league.”
As her first PVL conference comes to a close, Nisperos is thankful for the lessons that she and her team have learned, especially from playing a powerhouse team like Creamline.
“I’m very proud of my team. Kasi we really worked hard–talagang pina-aralan namin sarili namin at sila, Creamline, and we adjusted talaga. Very grateful na nakaharap namin sila during those times kasi we could see them and talagang we could learn from it especially from a champion team.”
“Moving forward, we’re still going to work hard, kung ano yung ginawa naming effective which is studying ourselves and at the same time yung opponents namin, yun yung gagawin namin. The effort that we show, of course not only 100%, but if we can do more than what we are expected of then I think we could move forward more.”
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