Choco Mucho interim head coach Edjet Mabbayad said that despite the departure of former head coach Oliver Almadro, the goal remains the same for the Flying Titans moving forward.
And that is to focus on winning their remaining matches to still have a shot at cracking the semifinals cast in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
“Wala pa naman tayo doon sa usapan na yun,” said Mabbayad when asked about his current status with the team. “As of now, naka-focus lang kami sa remaining games.”
Almadro officially stepped down as the head coach of Choco Mucho yesterday to focus on the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles’ upcoming campaign in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament.
During his six-conference stay with the Rebisco-backed squad, Almadro racked a 24-27 record but failed to steer the team to a title, settling for a couple of fourth-place finishes.
Playing their first game without their long-time mentor, the Flying Titans went on a dominant straight-set victory over United Auctioneers Inc-Army to stay alive in the semifinals race and move up to 3-3.
“Nung una naniniwala kami na kaya nila yung gawin, kaya nilang kumapit sa mga ganung sitwasyon so siguro pinakita or niremind lang namin sila na kailangan pagkatiwalaan nila yung mga sarili nila,” said Mabbayad.
“Alam dapat nila sa sarili nila na kaya nilang gawin yun, kumbaga kailangan nilang kailangan nilang maniwala sa sarili nila para magawa nila, nakita naman natin yung resulta nagawa naman nila,” he continued.
Mabbayadd lauded his wards for soldiering despite the circumstance given to them, which was just announced publicly hours before the Choco Mucho-UAI-Army match.
Uzbek-Azerbaijani import Odina Aliyeva was business as usual, firing 20 points. Meanwhile, Kat Tolentino and Des Cheng chipped in 14 and eight markers, respectively, in the win.
“Of course,syempre mabigat talaga, mararamdaman talaga namin yun and hindi naman namin kailangan alisin sa kanila yun. Hinayaan lang namin pero sabi namin sa kanila pag gising bukas, ibang usapan na yun tapos na yung kahapon,” shared the former UAAP MVP.
“Lahat naman in general na lang, alam niyo na naman yung pakiramdam na para kang binagsakan ng ano, ‘di ka makagalaw and tahimik lang talaga yung paligid mo and makikita mo sa movement parang mabagal, yun yung feeling,” he added.
“Gaya ng sinabi ko kanina, nagkaroon naman kami ng ilang oras din yun para i-process yung nangyari so medyo nakalma na rin kami nung training so ginawa lang namin yung dapat naming gawin nung training. Wala namang major changes sa training, ganun pa rin naman,” he continued.
For his part, Mabbayad, whose last coaching gig was with National University back in Season 76 of the UAAP, said that he was happy to get the win on his first-ever try but insisted that the job is not yet done.
“Masaya naman and hopefully magtuloy tuloy yung panalo para mas masaya,” said Mabbayad.
“Ganun pa rin, ipapalabas pa rin namin kung ano yung mga bata. Ipapakita at ipaparamdam namin yung tiwala namin sa kanila na kaya nilang gawin yun kaya sila mismo kailangan nilang maniwala sa sarili nila yun.”
