KATH Arado never found the weight of captaincy for PLDT to be too heavy to bear.
In fact, the supposed burden of being the High Speed Hitters’ veteran leader felt even lighter coming off their franchise’s first two PVL titles.
Sure, she’s still that go-to figure on the floor when it comes to throwing in motivational words or calming down nerves when the going gets tough.
But Arado finds that role much easier, as she’s surrounded by some of the league’s best talents with a shared level of maturity beyond their years.
They might not win every game coming off the end of a historic 15-game unbeaten run weeks ago, but with players whose egos don’t get in the way of their shared title aspirations, the captain knows that her team’s always in good hands.
“Sobrang dali actually kasi tanggap ng bawat isa 'yung accountability na sinasabi ni coach [Rald Ricafort] sa’min na tanggapin lang din talaga na may mga pagkukulang kami as an individual and as a team,” she said.
“‘Yung mga kasama ko, [since] galing sa mga champion teams, alam nila paano i-handle 'yung ganung stress at hindi na nagsisisihan.”
Of course, having La Salle champion players such as Kim Fajardo, Kianna Dy, Majoy Baron, and Mika Reyes, as well as superstar spiker Savi Davison in establishing and reinforcing that kind of culture doesn't hurt.
PLDT's bounce-back-ability
Still, sharing a no-excuses attitude makes the job much easier for the 27-year-old champion libero, one that bodes well for PLDT’s bid to make it three league titles in a row.
“Kita ko sa mga kasama ko, lalo nu’ng pagkatalo namin [sa Cignal], talagang hindi pwede maging reason na medyo naging pangit ‘yung preparation namin dahil lang may mga naging injury,” the High Speed Hitters skipper said.
“Bawal din kami mainis kasi ‘di naman lahat, naayon sa basa namin. Hindi lang din naman ako nag-iisa sa court, so hindi ko masyado kailangan i-stress sarili ko kapag hindi ko nakukuha ‘yung mga bola.
“Hindi kami mananalo kung mag-dwell ako sa naging error ko [kasi] bawal kaming maubusan ng pasensya”
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