ILOILO CITY — With Chery Tiggo now out of contention in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Mylene Paat looks to focus on the Philippines’ upcoming campaign in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Paat is part of the initial women’s national volleyball team pool that the Philippine National Volleyball Federation released last January.
“For now, I will prioritize the national team. Whatever it takes, I will play for the national team,” said Paat, who was trying to fight back tears just moments after the Crossovers’ heartbreaking straight-sets loss to Petro Gazz at the University of San Agustin Gymnasium here.
Chery Tiggo had the chance to make it to the playoffs if they beat the Angels. However, they unfortunately fell short of their comeback both in the second and third sets, resulting in a 25-21, 28-26, 25-21 loss.
The Crossovers erased a seven-point, 17-24 deficit in the second set to tie the game at 24-all, only to stumble in the extended frame. Chery Tiggo replicated its effort in the third and turned a 14-21 disadvantage to just two, 20-22.
They then found themselves on the losing end once again.
The reigning Reinforced Conference Most Valuable Player said that she’s mighty proud of the heart that her teammates showed against the Angels. Still, she also admitted that it’s very heartbreaking to see their valiant stand collapse in the end.
“I’m proud of them because we really wanted to win, which makes it even more painful because we gave our all but still ended up losing,” said Paat.
Paat believes that the team has all the right tools to compete in the PVL. However, the team still needs to work on their mental toughness in order to get over the hump for the next conference.
“I think the mental toughness of each player in every game should be treated as a championship game,” said the former Thailand League Best Scorer.
“Even if we’re not playing in a championship game, our mentality should be like that because the skills are there. We can work on them and polish every move we make, but mental toughness is a big process.”
