ONE of the Premier Volleyball League’s (PVL) most controversial shake-ups in recent memory unfolded roughly two months ago when sister teams Akari and Nxled traded not only some of their players but also their head coaches.
It was a blockbuster trade that saw former Nxled head coach Taka Minowa and aces Ivy Lacsina, Dani Ravena, Kamille Cal and Camille Victoria move to Akari in exchange for now-deputy coach Raffy Mosuela, now-Choco Mucho ace Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Trisha Genesis, Bang Pineda and now-Galeries Tower player Roselle Baliton.
For Lacsina, who made a strong first impression as a Charger with a game-high 20 points over Capital1, acclimatizing herself to a new environment wasn't really a challenge given the all-too familiar system ran by Minowa and some familiar faces in the team, too.
“Same naman po yung naging sistema ni coach Taka pagdating niya sa Akari. ‘Yung mga naging adjustments ko lang po pagdating ko sa Akari is yung sa teammates po. May mga ates din po kami dito so parang yun talaga yung kailangang ibuild na connections,” Lacsina said.
“Mas dumali naman siya (‘yung transition to Akari) kasi nandiyan sina Cams (Victoria), sina Dani (Ravena), sina Kamuy (Cal) na nakasama ko na dati, so tinulungan din nila ako.”
And even in the presence of longer-tenured Akari players, Lacsina took on the responsibility of asserting leadership and delivering instant impact to this Charger squad who are dreaming big this conference.
“Inassign po ako ni coach Taka (Minowa) maging game captain. Kaya kahit may mga errors po akong na-cocommit, hindi ko po pwedeng ipakita sa mga teammates ko na naiinis ako or na-low morale ako. Kaya mindset ko po na kailangan kong mag-lead sa team.”
The promise of a resurgent Akari side
Minowa, the Akari head coach and director of volleyball operations, bared how even he struggled to navigate the shake-up early on with the lack of intensive preparation time given to him.
“Since the exchange of Akari-Nxled players, we haven’t had enough time to practice because a lot of players were injured last conference and after we started practice. Until Oly (Okaro) came to Akari, we haven’t done any six-on-six. Maybe this time, we will start doing six-on-six and also (building the team’s) connection, especially (since) we don’t have any tuneup,” Minowa said.
But as the Japanese shot-caller saw first hand how this Akari side - now brimming with starpower - performed in their first game, he's confident that he has the personel to lead a deep run for this playoffs-starved franchise.
“In Nxled and Akari, when we compare the potential, it’s really different. Nxled are doing better, that’s why they were able to make it to rank eight last conference. With Akari, I can make it more tactical because of the potential with really good players," he said.
“I can see, especially in this match in the first, they’re doing really well. We’re just having a hard time because we can’t adjust yet with our foreign player. But in the fourth set, I had timeouts to make tactical changes and immediately, the players can adjust," he added.
"That’s very important to become a top four team or one of the best teams in the Philippines.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
