DETDET Pepito may have landed exactly where she wanted to in the 2026 PVL Rookie Draft.
READ: Detdet dreams to rise with Capital1 to ever-elusive championship
The only catch? Her longtime jersey number is already taken.
Capital1's second overall pick now finds herself in a friendly tug-of-war with franchise player and good friend Bella Belen over No. 4, a number that carries special meaning for both players.
For Pepito, No. 4 has been synonymous with her identity throughout her celebrated run in University of Santo Tomas, where she emerged as one of the country's premier liberos.
Belen, meanwhile, built her own legacy playing with the same number on her uniforms at National U.
In fact, No. 4 became so closely associated with the reigning PVL Rookie of the Year that NU eventually retired it, permanently hanging it in the rafters of Jhocson after one of the most decorated careers in school history.
So when asked about the possibility of handing over her number to her new-old teammate, Belen immediately drew the line.
“Ay wala, ‘di talaga ako papatalo,” she expressed, half-serious and half-joking.
“Kung gusto niya mag-four, pwede naman siya mag-zero-four or forty-four.”
Capital1 rising
The exchange drew laughs, but it also highlighted the growing excitement surrounding the Solar Spikers' intensifying core.
After all, it is not every day that two of the most recognizable collegiate stars find themselves debating over the same number on the same squad.
Fortunately for Capital1, the discussion is far from a problem.
It is merely the latest sign of how much talent the franchise has accumulated in a short span, with Pepito now joining Belen and MVPs Vanie Gandler and Erika Santos, as well as the rest of a young nucleus that hopes to eventually challenge for championships.
As for who ultimately gets No. 4? Belen sounds ready to defend it as fiercely as she does a volleyball, just as the case with their partnership back at Lucas R. Pascual Memorial Elementary School in Quezon City.
Pepito, of course the rookie in this situation? Well, she may just have to get creative and, indeed, go with either '04' or '44.'
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