After missing the team’s heartbreaking loss to San Juan-DN Steel, Afril Bernardino made sure to help New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas bounce back at the expense of Tagaytay-Tol in the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League regular season presented by Akari.
Fresh from her Gilas 3×3 stint, Bernardino delivered monster numbers in her return to the Valkyries, who vented their ire against the Patriots, 75-66, at the Ynares Sports Arena last Wednesday.
“Gigil siyempre nandyan, pero sabi ni coach itong game lang muna. Dito lang tayo mag-focus. Kalimutan na natin ‘yung loss,” said the WMPBL Invitational MVP.
Bernardino delivered a monster performance, finishing with 26 points and 21 rebounds on top of six assists, three steals, and three blocks in the win.
She came out determined to lift her team after missing their stinging 72-74 defeat to the Lady Knights, a game that slipped away on a Diane Peddregosa game-winner with just 1.5 seconds left.
(C) WMPBL
“Siguro, I just did my best effort, 100-percent. Kasi alam ko nandiyan ‘yung mga teammates ko, ‘pag napagod ako nandiyan sila, sasaluhin nila ako. So best effort lang talaga,” said Bernardino, who competed with Gilas 3×3 in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series in Azerbaijan.
“Playing with these girls, sobrang malaking bagay sa’kin. Especially bagong team lang kami, bagong magkakasama so we’re trying to each and every one to do our best lang inside the court,” she added.
The win over Tagaytay-Tol proved to be a crucial one for New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas. They are now tied with San Juan-DN Steel and Discovery-Rizal at the top spot with identical 5-2 records.
This put them in a prime position to snag one of the two outright semifinal slots in the six-team tourney.
“We just have to follow coach Cholo’s (Villanueva) instructions every game. Laging sinasabi sa’kin be disciplined sa loob ng court kahit sa labas. Basta magkakasama kami.”
