Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin lauded Flying Titans team captain Maddie Madayag for fighting through tendonitis in the team’s straight-set victory over Akari in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
“Sobrang proud ako kahit na may nararamdaman, nilalaban pa rin talaga niya,” said Alinsunurin.
Madayag has been experiencing flare-ups early in the conference, which caused him to miss Choco Mucho’s three-set victory against Cignal on March 14.
She powered through again in their five-set loss to PLDT earlier this week before doing the same again versus the Chargers, where she led the team to a 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 victory on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
The 26-year-old middle blocker tallied 11 points built on eight attacks and three kill blocks to help the Flying Titans force a three-way tie at the top spot with defending champion Creamline and PLDT via identical 5-1 records.
“Hindi lang naman ngayon eh, dati naman na niya ‘yan ginagawa talaga nung collegiate days niya pa. Kaya thankful din ako sa naging pagtanggap niya sakin and syempre yung pagtiwala ko sa kanila is sobrang sinusuklian niya,” said Alinsunurin.
Madayag admitted that she’s still feeling some pain but assured that she’s capable of playing through it.
“Kailan siya nag-flare up? Siguro overused lang din talaga, ‘yun ‘yung sabi ng doctor. For now, may nafe-feel pa rin ako but nakakapaglaro naman ako ng maayos,” said Madayag.
“Tendonitis po, basta ‘yun. Hindi naman nawala ‘yung pagle-lead ko sa team even though I wasn’t part of the starting lineup. Marami rin namang leaders sa team kahit na wala ako sa court physically, andun sila Sisi (Rondina),” she continued.
“Bawat isa sa team kaya nilang mag lead and ‘yun nga, sundin lang namin ‘yung sistema na gusto ng mga coaches, hindi naman po kami mahihirapan.”
