MAE Tajima has finally come out of her shell.
The former Ateneo bench player delivered big as the Bali Pure defeated Laoag, 28-26, 25-23, 25-17, in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan on Wednesday.
Bali Pure playing coach Charo Soriano couldn’t be any prouder of the middle blocker from Davao, who finished with eight points and was named the Best Player of the Game.
“Mae, she’s improving in every game. She’s got a lot of good blocks now, as you can see naman, she’s more aggressive in the net, more service aces,” said Soriano.
“I’m very proud of Mae, super proud of Mae,” she added.
[See Bali Pure makes it four wins in a row in V-League]
Tajima, who played sparingly for Ateneo in her four years with the Lady Eagles, was just as happy that her efforts are finally paying off.
“I’m really happy because it’s my first time (to be a Best Player) and I’m really happy that we played well,” said the soft-spoken volleybelle, who is averaging 4.6 points per game after five matches.
Although Soriano and Tajima did not play together for the Katipunan-based school, the former Ateneo ace was a picture of a proud mentor, lauding the middle blocker's growing confidence as one of the key factors behind their hot start.
“She’s such a great player, she just needs more exposure. And right now you can see naman, even in the time that she’s inside the court, as in a lot of difference in terms of aggressiveness especially with her hits already,” said Soriano.
“She has it in her, she just needs more exposure and now that she has it, she’s really proving herself,” she added.
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