Asaka Tamaru has been scoring points consistently ever since Kurashiki arrived in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
And the most important point of her campaign here in the Philippines came at the best time possible – a service ace to win the championship over Creamline in five grueling sets, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13.
Already admittedly tired, playing their sixth game in nine days, Tamaru only had one thing in her mind when she made that serve with the Ablaze already at match point.
“Just have the courage and deliver an aggressive serve. I just didn’t want to lose confidence,” said Tamaru through an interpreter moments after Kurashiki won the title on Sunday evening in front of more than 8,000 fans at the Philsports Arena.
Cool, calm, and collected, the Ablaze star served the ball right down the endline, catching the Cool Smashers off guard.
Creamline challenged the call, but the video confirmed that Tamaru’s service had the exact placement and right bounce for an ace.
Tamaru, who was also named Best Outside Hitter, dropped 29 points, built on 28 attacks and, of course, the crown-clinching service ace.
“Actually, my serves were not in good condition, so I was thinking that I wanted to spike the final point. I was just lucky that it turned into a service ace,” shared Tamaru.
Tamaru and the rest of the Ablaze will cherish this victory heading into their Japan V.League Division 3 campaign starting in November.
Surely, their experience playing against the top local teams of the PVL, along with Kinh Bac of Vietnam, will benefit them in their buildup for their Division 3 tourney.
“We are very happy with this championship. We also have a league in Japan in November, so we are sure that we will level up because of our experience here in the PVL,” said Tamaru.
And with their return to Japan, they have a new ace up their sleeves when they play there.
It’s what they learned from the Filipino volleyball players – to keep smiling even when the situation is not in their favor.
“The Filipino players are very smiling, even in bad situations, they still smile. For us, when the situation is not good, we tend to feel sad. That’s what we will emulate—the Philippine style of smiling volleyball.”
