Capital1 head coach Roger Gorayeb believes the Solar Spikers are ‘getting there’ following their maiden campaign in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
The Solar Spikers ended their campaign in 11th place, edging new squad Strong Group, who finished the tournament with a 0-11 record, after capping the tournament with a 1-10 win-loss record.
Despite an unfortunate end to their first stint, Gorayeb said that the team has gone a long way since getting formed just two weeks before the start of the tournament – a time when some of his players didn’t even know their teammates’ names.
“May time nung nag-start kami, one week ba o two weeks na lang opening na. Nagpa-practice kami (tapos may nagtanong) ‘Ano nga pala pangalan mo?’ Tawa ako nang tawa. By face, kilala nila ang isa’t isa pero by name, hindi pa,” recalled the veteran coach with a smile.
“Hindi sila ganun ka-close talaga. First time nila magsama sama eh. Everybody came from different teams, though ito, nandiyan si Aiko, mga dati kong players. Magkakakilala sila, pero yung iba talagang wala. ‘Anong pangalan mo? Anong pangalan mo?’ Natatawa ako,” he continued.
“At least slowly, inch by inch, we are getting there. That’s the most important thing.”
It has been a rough campaign for Capital1, only scoring a single victory at the expense of the winless Athletics and winning a total of just five sets throughout the season following a five-set encounter with Galeries Tower, which they eventually lost.
While the Solar Spikers made strides throughout the entire tournament, Gorayeb emphasized that he cannot accept a similar end result for the next conference.
“I cannot accept this kind of game in the next conference, they should be more aggressive. They should be a more smarter player given the experience they had. Gamitin nila,” said Gorayeb.
“Paano ‘pag ako yung walang expereince sa pagcocoach, ang hirap lalo nun. Matututo din yan, magre-rest lang muna kami. Pagbalik, we’ll come back as a different team. Two weeks ang preparation namin before the opening, ngayon medyo mahaba-haba na. Makakapag-prepare kami,” he continued.
Gorayeb said that the team will be given a break after the conference while the management is set to chart its next moves ahead of the next tournament.
The long-time volleyball tactician bared that scouting for an import and navigating through free agency will be up next in Capital1’s plans.
“Pagaaralan namin lahat kasi yung iba, nabigyan yata ng one conference, merong one year. Ia-assess namin. Kasi kailangan din syempre… if we have the same players, ayaw naman namin na the same result lang,” said Gorayeb.
“We’ll try to see who will be available, madagdagan kami. Ang hirap magsabi ng percentage kasi bente sila eh so sa ngayon kasi pagpapahingain ko muna sila then during that break, mag-assess kami. Hindi lang naman ako ang magaasses, nandiyan pa yung team manager namin so kailangan sama sama kami sa desisyon, magkaisa kami. Hindi ko masabi yung percentage.”
