BACARRA, Ilocos Norte — Jovelyn Gonzaga has gained more respect and admiration from Rachel Anne Daquis after their first duel in 10 years.
'GonzaQuis' matchup
Gonzaga and Daquis, who have been teammates for a decade, went head-to-head in an exciting and competitive showdown — trying to outwit each other’s attacks and blocks — in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference.
“Actually parang normal na game tapos hindi talaga maiwasang magkahulihan ng laro so last-minute adjustment kami nung setter ko,” said Gonzaga, who scored 14 points and got the last laugh after Black Mamba-Army beat Cignal in four sets on Saturday.
“Thankful naman ako na injury-free and maganda yung pinakita namin sa mga fans.”
For Daquis, who finished with 13 points and nailed a vengeful block on her former teammate, her respect grew bigger for the opposite spiker’s passion after seeing it in a different perspective this time.
“I have always high respect with Jovelyn all the years na magkasama kami. But now playing on the other side of the court mas humanga ako sa kanya. How strong and gifted she is in this sport,” the Cignal skipper said.
Gonzaga’s Lady Troopers finished sixth in the tournament with 4-5 record, while Daquis and the HD Spikers ended dead last with one win against eight losses.
But the best friends had a great time playing against each other for the first time and taking part of the historic Laoag bubble after the sport’s year-long layoff in this pandemic.
Jovelyn is hoping that someday they’ll reunite again in one team as their fans say ‘GonzaQuis’ forever.
“Looking forward na magkasama ulit kami ni Buday. Masaya naman ako at nakalaban namin yung Cignal,” Gonzaga said.
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