DESPITE the tough loss in her debut, Jhoana Maraguinot was happy to finally play her first game as a Sta. Lucia Lady Realtor in the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference.
Recruited by the Realtors last Invitational Conference, Maraguniot waited a while longer to suit up for her new team due to a Patellar instability and vastus medialis oblique (vmo) injury.
But the new recruit finally played her first PSL game on Tuesday - only for the Lady Realtors to fall to the new-look Smart Giga Hitters in straight sets, 20-25, 19-25, 23-25.
“I'm happy despite the loss. Sobrang happy ko for myself because after six months nakalaro na ulet ako,” Maraguinot told the reporters after the loss. “Better naman ako now, way better than before. Maintenance na lang ngayon. I can't say din na one hundred percent there na ako.”
The former Ateneo Lady Eagle, who only had six points, is patiently taking her time and not rushing her way in regaining her true form.
“Sobrang gusto kong makabalik agad pero nire-remind din ako nila coach George (Pascua) na hindi ko pwedeng panggigilan,” she said. “Hindi siya makukuha sa isang training lang. Siyempre, kailangan ko rin alalayan kasi ipe-prevent 'yung injury. I have to trust the process na I'll get there to my desired form.”
Playing in the PSL is really a different battlefield for Maraguinot, saying that there’s distributed roles for each players in her club team.
“I think we have equal roles dito. Unlike UAAP na senior ka so sa'yo mostly magde-depend, I think dito senior kaming lahat, so equal 'yung distribution ng trabaho,” the open hitter said.
But in her Realtors debut, Maraguinot learned a lot of things and she is eager to bounce back on their next game facing F2 Logistics on November 6 at the same venue.
“We have minor adjustments to make kasi simpleng communication and execution ng plays 'yung nagpa-down sa amin,” she concluded.
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