MARS Alba made a stunning preseason move to trade purple for pink and join Akari.
It ended nearly a year-long stint with Choco Mucho, highlighted by her first PVL silver medal and a top four league finish.
READ: Mars Alba joins Akari to settle down Chargers' setter position
So, what exactly prompted her decision to play for Akari?
Alba refused to disclose the reason for leaving the Flying Titans per se. But when it came to joining the Chargers, the Alas Pilipinas playmaker had two main reasons.
First, Akari has the second-most ex-La Salle players in the PVL with four — Alba now included.
She previously played with Fifi Sharma and Justine Jazareno in the UAAP where they won the Season 85 championship two years ago.
On top of that, Alba also briefly shared the court with Ivy Lacsina for defunct F2 Logistics in the PVL.
Alba looks to bank on that familiarity to bolster an already-promising Chargers core.
“Siguro, ‘yung familiarity din talaga kasi given nga na most of the players here sa Akari, mga naging teammates ko na, nakasama ko na, so feel ko mas mabilis akong makaka-jell sa kanila,” she said.
“Mataas yung expectations ko sa kanila, given yung ilang podium finishes nila. Soon, sana makatulong at maka-contribute na ako sa kanila sa mga susunod pang conferences.”
Akari's new setter union
Another, perhaps more personal, reason as to why Alba jumped ship to Akari was the prospect of being mentored by one of the country’s all-time setter greats in Tina Salak.
Under the tutelage of a sporting legend, Alba knows she’ll have to put in the work to be as better a setter than she ever was.
“Happy ako kasi magiging coach ko rin finally si coach Tina, given na magaling talaga siyang setter and legend [kaya] sobrang excited ako kasi hindi ko alam kung saan pa yung maaabot ko sa career ko,” she said.
“Yung experience and tapang siguro yung madadala ko pa sa team. Kailangan talagang paghirapan lahat at hindi ako papayag na basta-basta ko siyang makukuha nang hindi ko pinaghihirapan.
“Lahat talaga, hard work yung puhunan.”
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