IT’S business as usual for Petro Gazz even after the return of ace middle blocker MJ Phillips following her one-season stint with cellar-dwelling Gwangju AI Peppers in the Korean V-League.
Angels team captain Remy Palma echoed Phillips’ remarks on ensuring that the team will make use of the best players available, whether it involves sticking with Petro Gazz' status quo rotation all-conference long or gradually integrating Phillips into Japanese head coach Koji Tsuzurabara’s new system in the home stretch.
READ: Will MJ Phillips play for Petro Gazz this conference? It's possible
And should Phillips make her eagerly-awaited season debut at a later stage in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference, there won’t be any sense of over-dependence on a single player for the Angels to perform and deliver the goods en route to a prospective semifinals run.
“Unang-una, masaya kami na nakabalik na si MJ (Phillips) na safe and buo. ‘Yung presence niya, siyempre malaking bagay yun, knowing MJ. Pero ‘yun nga, lagi naman namin pinag-uusapan na kami pa rin naman ‘yung nag-eensayo. ‘Di naman dahil bumalik si MJ, kay MJ na kami mag-rerely. It means na mas madadagdagan yung meron kami nang bumalik si MJ,” said Palma.
"Malaking appreciation nga na nakabalik na siya, so kami tuloy-tuloy lang. Tuloy-tuloy pa rin sa sistema ni Coach Koji (Tsuzurabara) na kung sino man 'yung kalaban, 'yun 'yung pagaadjust-an, 'yun 'yung page-ensayuhan. And after nu'n, kung saan kami mabigyan ng chance (makapasok sa semifinals), 'yun naman 'yung pag-tatrabahuhan namin," she added.
No room for complacency
It may be a more favorable two-game closing stretch schedule-wise for Petro Gazz against also-rans Galeries Tower and Nxled, but Palma refused to lull her team into complacency as the four semifinals spots all hang in the balance with only the finest of margins separating the last six teams in contention.
"Masaya po kaming lahat mas lumiliminaw yung daan (papunta) sa semis pero hindi pa rin naman tapos 'yung eliminations kaya 'di parin kami pwedeng mag-relax or mag-banjing banjing na lang. Kailangan po naming matapos nang maayos 'yung eliminations and after nu'n, tignan natin kung saan kami abutin," said Palma.
Hence, more work will be required for Petro Gazz to close out the elimination round with the best form and in the best position possible to remain razor-sharp should it advances to the single-round robin semifinals.
"Kailangan naming mag-triple effort kasi kung gusto namin manalo, kailangan naming mag-create ng points. Hindi kami pwedeng umasa du'n sa ibibigay lang nila sa'min kasi pupuntos at pupuntos sila.
"Need din po namin ma-carry over 'yung momentum na makukuha namin sa mga susunod pa naming games and 'di talaga kami pwedeng magrelax. 'Di kami pwedeng (umasta na) parang dahil 7-2 (win-loss record) kami ngayon, safe na 'yun. 'Di pa rin namin pwedeng i-instill sa sarili namin 'yun so mag-wowork hard pa rin talaga kami," the Petro Gazz captain said.
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