JUNE 29, 2019, five years to the day, and the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) was rocked by one of its most infamous on-court incidents.
Now-defunct Balipure’s Montenegrin import Danijela Dzakovic found herself in hot water for a strong hit to the nape of her teammate and ‘good friend’ Jewelle Bermillo after a digging miscue in their elimination round finale against Creamline in the PVL Season 3 Reinforced Conference.
READ: BaliPure libero Bermillo left in tears after hit from import Dzakovic
Although remorseful immediately after the incident, Dzakovic’s ‘inexcusable’ act did not sit well with volleyball fans, as well as Bermillo’s then-San Sebastian head coach Roger Gorayeb.
In the aftermath, the PVL decided to give the outgoing import a reprimand in what turned out to be her last match in the Philippines.
READ: Hit on Bermillo nape earns Danijela Dzakovic a slap on the wrist from PVL
Fast forward to now, however, and Bermillo has moved on, ready to ‘heed her calling’ after a brief hiatus from volleyball.
The 5-foot-3 libero was among 47 qualified aspirants for the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft, seeking a new lease on her career which once took a hard hit - literally and figuratively.
Jewelle's first (or second) shot at the PVL
One might question why Bermillo has to go through the draft though she already played in the PVL. In fact, the ex-Water Defender is the only player in the draft pool with league experience under her belt.
But that's just because technicalities have forced Bermillo to pass through the rookie selection process since her past PVL stint was prior to the league turning pro in 2021.
Call it a debut, a comeback, or whatever the case may be, but the inaugural draft is a second shot for Bermillo to prove that there can still be more to her PVL career than being the aggrieved party in an unfortunate in-game incident.
“Sobrang laki po ng impact talaga. Nu’ng una po kasi, nakaka-shock po siya, kung ano ‘yung nangyari, kasi first time po siya nangyari (sa akin),” said Bermillo, recalling the incident five years later.
“Ang dinala ko rin po (sa nangyari) is siyempre, maging aggressive po ako, mas maging aware po ako kung sinong kasama ko sa loob. And number one po is communication kasi ‘yun talaga ‘yung nawala. Lack of communication po kami kaya nangyari ‘yun before.”
Bermillo also shared that she would still be tagged in reposts of clips of the incident after all these years. And in what could be a full circle moment should she get drafted, she's looking forward to a possible PVL return in the - coincidentally - import-laden, Reinforced Conference.
“Iniiwasan na po natin ‘yung nangyari before at sana po hindi na siya mangyari. Sobrang excited po kasi malaki pong tulong po ‘to sa mga teams po natin na meron tayong reinforcements para po mas ma-level up pa po natin (‘yung level of play ng Philippine volleyball) at madala natin sa national team po nang mas ma-improve pa natin ‘yung volleyball community natin,” Bermillo said.
“Hindi (ko na pinapanood ulit yung incident), pero lagi kasi siyang lumalabas. As in every month po, may nagta-tag. Lalo na po’t June 29 po kasi nangyari ‘yun so may magta-tag na naman po niyan kahit five years ago na po ‘yung nangyari,” she added in jest.
PVL return would be Bermillo's 'crowning jewel'
Such a scarring debacle actually brought Bermillo back to volleyball rather than repulsed her from playing the game she always had a fervent passion for.
“Siguro po calling ko po (ang volleyball) kaso gusto kong i-try kung ano po talaga ‘yung passion ko po before. Baka ito na ‘yung time na maglaro po ako ulit,” she said.
From being under champion mentor Gorayeb’s wings, Bermillo aims to spread her own wings this time around with a sharper skillset to offer to whichever PVL team takes interest in her services.
“Kung ano po ‘yung skills ko, gusto ko pong ma-enhance or ma-develop pa po para mas malaki po yung maitutulong ko sa team kung anuman po ‘yung team na mapupuntahan ko," she said.
Being the father figure that he’s always been, Gorayeb’s pre-draft advice for Bermillo was rather simple yet straightforward: show them the player and the person she has grown to become.
“Sabi lang po ni coach, ilabas ko lang po kung ano ‘yung skills na natutunan ko po sa kanya. At kung makuha ‘man ako o hindi, ‘wag raw akong mahiya. Ilabas ko lang po kung sino talaga ako at kung ano ‘yung skills na meron ako,” Bermillo said.
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