WHEN PLDT signed an erstwhile-injured Kianna Dy in January 2024, one question was asked over and over again even without the guarantee of a definite answer: when will she play?
That day happened to be last Tuesday in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
READ: KKD happy to finally be back after a year and a half on the shelf
A game time decision by High Speed Hitters head coach Rald Ricafort late in the fourth set in a four-set win over Cignal saw KKD return to the PVL 559 days since hurting her right knee and 388 days since joining PLDT.
Although a full PVL season had passed from the day Dy became a High Speed Hitter, Ricafort knew that they did the right thing by waiting for as long as they did no thanks to the circumstances Dy was dealt.
“‘Yung tagal dun sa recovery niya, we’ve been very patient naman. Hindi lang naman ‘yan judgment na para hindi siya gamitin. Talagang complicated and mahirap process niya,” Ricafort said.
“Kahit siya, naging impatient na rin at times, pero gusto talaga namin na kapag nakabalik siya, less na ‘yung iisipin niya at mas fluid na ‘yung galaw. Hopefully, mas tuloy-tuloy na ‘yung recovery.”
One thing PLDT didn’t have to wait 388 days for , however, is to feel the impact of KKD’s addition to the team.
Even from the sidelines where she mostly spent her early days, the former F2 Logistics star knew just how to make her presence felt and help her new squad even before she got the chance to take the taraflex.
In other words, her presence was already a present in itself for the High Speed Hitters.
“Kahit nung kababalik niya lang sa training, malaking bagay ‘yung presence niya eh. Kahit paunti-unti lang siya sa scrimmage, siya pa rin ‘yan eh. Kahit hindi pa 100-percent yung Kianna na nakakalaro sa first six, nakakatulong siya sa improvement namin,” Ricafort said.
“Nandiyan siya, ‘yung mga ibang subs namin nagtatrabaho pa rin nang mahirap, sila Jessey (De Leon) and Mika (Reyes), so happy kami na at least, nadagdagan kami na alam namin na makakatulong pa sa improvement ng team.”
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