MYLA Pablo picked the perfect moment to live up to her ‘Bagyong Pablo’ moniker in Petro Gazz’s do-or-die quarterfinal win over perennial rival and last year’s Reinforced Conference tormentor Creamline.
When American import Lindsey Vander Weide went down with an ankle sprain early in the first set, the two-time PVL MVP slid into the first outside hitter spot and erupted for a conference-best 26 points to carry the Angels into the knockout semifinals.
That 25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14 victory had traces of vintage Pablo written all over it, punctuated by her game-winning crosscourt hammer in a lopsided fourth set that drove the final nail in the Cool Smashers' coffin.
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For the 32-year-old veteran, this entire Reinforced Conference has been a lesson in patience.
Forced to step back as LVW and fellow MVP Brooke Van Sickle carried the offensive load, Pablo even had to shift to the opposite hitter spot in a role far from her natural place on the outside.
As a result, Pablo slipped to fifth on Petro Gazz’s scoring chart during the preliminaries, finishing with 42 points across eight games (5.25 per outing).
It wasn’t ideal but it wasn’t too hard for Pablo either, having been through more than a few changes in her career — from teams to coaches and playing positions among others.
“As a professional player naman, kung ano ‘yung magiging adjustments ng team and management, tinatanggap naman namin,” Pablo told SPIN.ph.
“Pero siyempre, hindi mo naman kailangan dalhin sa game [kung anuman nararamdaman ko about it]. Basta kami, buo kami sa loob ng court, buo ‘yung team namin na lumalaban lang talaga.
“Ginagawan lang talaga namin ng paraan sa mga sarili namin kung paano pa mapapabuti ‘yung team.”
As for the outside-to-opposite transition, it wasn’t unfamiliar territory for Pablo. She had gone through the same adjustment and the same limited-minutes and position-shift setup under former head coach Koji Tsuzurabara.
Which is why, whenever her number is called, as that playoff performance made clear, expect nothing less than a full-blown storm when Pablo checks in.
“As an opposite naman, kumbaga, nasanay na rin ako before kay coach Koji din eh. I played opposite din naman,” Pablo said.
“Hindi na rin ako nahirapan sa pag-adjust this conference kasi ang trabaho ko lang naman, mag-block din [mula sa opposite].
“Sana sa next game, ma-apply ko pa ‘yung mga ganung attacks ko.”
Now, Pablo and the rest of the Angels look to ride that momentum straight into the finals for the seventh time in franchise history, with last year’s runner-up Akari standing in the way in Thursday’s knockout semifinals at 4 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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