JOV Gonzaga is pumped for her taraflex comeback as she suits up for Army-Black Mamba in the 2022 PVL Invitational Conference which opens on July 9.
"I sacrificed a lot para lang makabalik sa indoor," the Lady Troopers team captain said.
Gonzaga, 30, missed the Open Conference early this year to compete in the 31st Southeast Asian Games women’s beach volleyball where she helped the Philippines capture bronze.
See PVL team Akari taps Jorge Souza de Brito as head coach
In her absence, Army-Black Mamba collected only one win for seventh place, a stark contrast to its 2021 campaign where it almost scored an upset over powerhouse Creamline during the elimination round and finished with a 4-5 record.
Gonzaga is determined to make up for lost time.
"The main purpose is gusto ko makatulong sa Army kasi last season wala ako. So that's the intent talaga. May mga ginive up akong mga bagay-bagay to play for Army this season," she shared, with her arrival more than making up for the absences of Honey Royse Tubino and Lut Malaluan.
Army gets a boost with Jovelyn Gonzaga's return.
The two-time Philippine SuperLiga MVP, however, is tempering expectations returning to the hard court after months of playing under the sun.
"Wala akong expectations kasi naka-focus ako ngayon sa training," she said. "Personally coming from beach volleyball na ang tagal kong nag-stop playing indoor so ngangapa pa ako."
Gonzaga said she's working double time to build her connection with the team's setter Ivy Perez, whom she'll play with for the first time, saying, "Ang connection ko sa team kailangan ko siya i-work out since si Ivy ngayon ko lang siya naging setter."
"Ayaw ko mag-expect kasi nandoon na yung pressure, pero ayaw ko na siyang dagdagan."
Gonzaga and the Lady Troopers raise the curtain for this midseason conference when they face Cignal. Jillian Velasco
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.
