BY Gwen Bergado
WHAT'S in a name? If they say the name is the game, then Gerz Petallo has her work cut out for her.
While her surname sounds close to 'patalo,' a Tagalog word referring to somebody who causes a loss, the third-year ace spiker is anything but that to Far Eastern University.
In fact, Petallo - alongside the likes of Tin Ubaldo, Chenie Tagaod, Jean Asis, and Faida Bakanke - stands at the forefront of the Lady Tamaraws' resurgence in UAAP women's volleyball.
“Yung mga ganon, patalo or something, dedma talaga,” she answered when asked about more than a few snide remarks regarding her last name.
Gerz, a winner, through and through
On Saturday inside Mall of Asia Arena, it was actually Petallo who keyed the green-and-gold's big-time triumph over last year's runner-up University of Santo Tomas.
Delivering a 15-point performance featuring an all-around eight attacks, five blocks, and two aces, she saw to it to make proud the names plastered at the front and back of her jersey.
READ: Lady Tams take shine off of golden-seeking Tigresses
At the same time, she was quick to deflect credit back to her teammates.
“Talagang tyinaga lang po namin. And dahil na rin po sa tulong ng teammates ko yun,” she said on her strong showing to start the season.
And even better for the faithful over in Morayta, their 21 year old hitter is far from satisfied.
"Wala naman po kasi talangang consistent and perfect, kaya kailangan pong magtiyaga pa talaga," she said.
Say what you wanna say about her surname, but Petallo is here to win - and FEU may very well be sniffing a 30th championship because of it.
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