There was more than volleyball on Bojana Todorovic’s mind coming into their match against Petron last Monday.
Philps Gold’s star import dropped a season-best 38 points en route to a resounding victory over the defending PSL Grand Prix champs, sealing their top-seed entry into the semifinals.
Days before the match, heinous terrorist acts hit Paris, where Todorovic played volleyball for a season in the past. Todorovic admitted that she definitely had her French friends in mind. “I have a lot friends there (Paris), I have a lot of friends in Portières. When I first heard, it really struck me. I was quiet all day. Just sending a bunch of messages to them asking ‘How are you? Is everything ok?’. And it was tough to wait all day to get those messages back,” Todorovic said.
“But it’s not just Paris, it’s the whole world. This has been a crazy, crazy week,” she continued. Before their match against Petron, the Lady Slammers drew peace signs on their wrists. While they were without a key player, those peace signs seemed to help steady their wrists for Petron’s punishing attacks. With heavy hearts and minds, Philips did what no other had done before – sweep their season series against the Petron Blaze Spikers.
Before Todorovic’s 38-point explosion, the former UCLA Bruin had already cemented her status as the best player in the PSL, providing Philips with a consistent scoring option and devastatingly efficient floor defense and ball control.
When asked about her potential MVP season, Todorovic relished the thought of winning an individual award in the twilight of her career. Only 24 years young, Todorovic wants to pursue avenues where she can help the most people she can. “It would mean a lot to me (winning an MVP). I’ve worked really hard to be the best volleyball player I can be and I’m nearing the end of my career. I’m not gonna be playing for the next two years, maybe I play one more season in January but I’m gonna be done after that. I wanna do other things. I love playing volleyball, I really do. But I wanna do something bigger that maybe helps the world overall. Volleyball is great for me: the fans are great, it’s really fun. But I wanna do something more than just fun now. I’m gonna be 25 next year and I’m going to start building a career. It’s no sad thing, really. It’s a very conscious choice I’m making.”
Bo is working on finishing her Masters Degree in Sports Management at Long Beach State University. She hopes to start from there and build up. “If I can somehow take sports and start a non-profit (organization) or somehow give back to either my community, my country, the world, whatever I can do. I’ll start small, of course. You have to smart small and build something big – something I can look back on in 20 years and say, ‘You know what, I made a difference in people’s lives’,” she told.
With her boundless energy and impenetrable focus, Todorovic fulfilling her altruistic dream is only inevitable.
Now, can she help the Lady Slammers to their first PSL title? They collide with the Foton Tornadoes at 4 p.m. at the FilOil Flying V Arena.
