BEFORE breaking the PVL scoring record thrice, Capital1’s Marina Tushova turned heads with her blunt remarks on the level of play in Philippine volleyball.
In her own words: ‘It’s not that high quality.’
READ: Capital1 import blunt on PH volleyball: 'Not that high quality'
Since her frank confession, the 25-year-old Russian spiker went on to score 45, 49, and most recently, 50, as the Solar Spikers’ dream run came to an end in five sets at the hands of Cignal in the knockout quarterfinals
With that, in the PVL's seven-year history, Tushova now has the first, second, and third highest single-game points hauls.
In a chat with SPIN.ph moments after her historic final act in the conference, she explained it wasn’t the quality of play, per se, that led to her monumental scoring performances.
It’s just that Tushova has been used to a different style in her past European stints and was able to quickly come to terms with the Philippines' speedy brand of volleyball.
“No, it’s not because of this,” Tushova answered when asked if her record-setting was all because of her initial assessment of how Filipinos played the game.
“The level of Filipino volleyball is less powerful and more quick, you know? This is the big difference. They ask me about the difference, and I say it so directly and true. Here, it’s not that powerful when it comes to the hitters.”
Tushova added: “In the national team level, I was never there. Maybe somewhere higher, yes, but I have never been in the Turkish or Italian Championships. I don’t know if I’ll be there, but I want to. Let’s see."
“These championships have very powerful (spikers), but here, it’s more about fast movements, more about defense, and all these things.”
So as it turns out, in her blunt remarks after her league debut, she was merely comparing the hit power between PVL players and those in the higher level of competition.
50 sounds perfect for Marina
Zoning into her latest feat, though, the Solar Spikers' reinforcement was glad to share she's finally in a good place when it comes to her numbers.
That's all because she isn't too fond of the number four - you know, the number that her first two scoring marks both began with.
“I don’t like the number four. From my childhood, we have marks in Russia (in school). Five, it means like, the best of the best. Four, it’s like, ‘No!’ I just don’t like number four, and then (I scored) 46 and 49. Now, it’s 50 and it’s good," she said.
As she heads to Azerbaijan to play for club team Ganja until May of next year, Tushova expressed her interest for a Philippine comeback by 2025.
But reflecting on how her first PVL stint ended, even with a one-of-a-kind 50-piece, there’s one wish she’d rather have had come true.
As she put it, “I would’ve wished for another thing. I wish our team won today.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
