EMERGING from an esteemed sporting clan, sisters Milka and Mandy Romero know more than a thing or two about how to navigate life as competitive athletes.
As the sister act takes a page off of their father and 1-Pacman Partylist Rep. Mikee's playbook as team owners, their abundant experiences in multiple sporting fields will be at the core of their forthcoming leadership for the Capital1 Power Spikers — the Premier Volleyball League's (PVL) 12th and newest club.
READ: Newest PVL team Capital1 holds tryouts under veteran coach Gorayeb
"We’ve been young athletes, training all our lives. But also coming as team owners, what we learned from our father is how to be passionate team owners, how to care for the team, the players, the managers, the coaches, and especially the love for the sport and the game."
Mandy added: "We definitely inherited the passion for winning. We know that it will be an uphill battle but we definitely want to have our competitive spirit at the end of the day and that’s something we learned from our dad."
As the Capital1 owners bared, "sports are really in our blood." Mandy was once part of the Philippine Muay Thai national team while Milka was a former co-captain of the Ateneo women's football team.
For Milka, the priceless value of 'pakikisama' and thoroughly understanding the struggles embedded in the journeys of their soon-to-be Capital1 players paves the way for a family-oriented winning culture in the long haul.
"I experienced being a player at a very high level and I know how you just wanna focus on the game. But with the pressure and management and all of that, doon nasisira yung game eh back when I was playing. So I think it’s an advantage that I can also think like a player and you know, pakikisama," Milka said.
"Of course, we have some goals bilang franchise. We really want that culture still to be identified where we’re at. But again, we’re off to a good start, and with our experience being players, managing various teams, having an expert coaching staff, and of course our players, wala nang other choice but to go up from there so it's very exciting," she added.
'Great teams take time'
As the Romeros would know, success is never built overnight.
But with the much-needed help of an esteemed head coach in Roger Gorayeb to call the shots, the long-term vision of building not only a 'formidable team in the next two to three years' but an extensive community-centered pursuit of growing the sport from the grassroots can be attained.
"We realize that great teams take time and with Coach Roger (Gorayeb) at the helm, and Coach Hollie (Reyes), we hope that we can create a formidable team in the next two to three years and hopefully find diverse talent from across the country.
"We’ll also be having sports clinic programs to give back to the communities, that’s also part of our vision moving forward and definitely we want to create a culture, as my sister mentioned, that elevates also our team and putting us in the forefront of women’s volleyball. That’s our long-term vision. It will be an uphill battle for sure," Mandy bared.
"We’re focusing on a two to three-year developmental program wherein the franchise is bago pa rin but the experience is very experts na po sila. The company is new but our experiences are there and our main focus bilang sisters is to build our culture, build the team muna, and put our place in the PVL.
"We want to win of course, that’s why everybody’s here. It’s the most competitive league and sport but our footing is given to the experts and I think that relationship is something that we expect on our end but of course we have bigger visions for Capital1 Power Spikers," Milka added.
The heart for women in sports
Beyond the opportunity to enter and compete in the PVL, Mandy, and Milka saw the promising potential of using the league as an expansive platform to champion women in sports.
"We’d really like to thank Sir Ricky (Palou) and Tony (Liao) for adding our team because we see that the future of women’s sports is in the PVL and we want to really push our presence — kaming dalawa since, of course, we’re also players in women’s sports. We see the struggle of women in sports and I think now is the moment for women’s sports," Milka bared.
"My sister and I are big fans of the PVL. What we have to bring to the team is our heart. We really have the passion for it and we understand also the daily struggles of what it is to be an athlete, especially at the national level, to represent your team, the vision, and also sometimes the entire country. For us, hopefully, we can create a strong bond a really a family. That’s what we’re looking for with Capital1 Solar Energy," Mandy added.
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