EJ Laure is entering an exciting new chapter in her career as she signs with Nxled, eager to spread her wings and step out of her comfort zone.
Since her high school days at the University of Santo Tomas, Laure has been under the guidance of Kungfu Reyes, a mentor who has continued to support her even as she transitioned into the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) in 2022.
During her three years with Chery Tiggo in the PVL, Reyes held multiple roles with the Crossovers, including assistant coach, head coach, and team manager.
“Siguro gusto ko lumabas sa comfort zone ko and siyempre new experience din kasi since ang tagal ko sa Chery, parang bagong lang ma-experience,” said the 27-year-old veteran.
However, Laure’s debut with Nxled’s Chameleons will have to wait as she is still working on building chemistry with her new teammates.
She only joined the team’s practice on Monday, making her unavailable for their Tuesday matchup against none other than her former team, Chery Tiggo.
“Siguro kasi depende kay Coach Ettore [Guidetti]. Kasi yun, since yesterday pa lang din ako nag-training sa kanila,” Laure explained.
The 5-foot-7 outside hitter also revealed that she is still recovering from a knee injury, which caused her to miss the entire 2024 Reinforced Conference.
Though she’s making progress, Laure is still working on regaining her full strength, with ball drills as part of her recovery process during her first practice with the Chameleons.
“Dati nung nasa Chery pa lang, parang nagre-recover pa rin talaga ako. So ngayon naman, nakakabola na ako,” shared the second-generation athlete.
Once she receives the green light to return to the taraflex, Laure intends to step up as a leader for Nxled, helping the team secure some much-needed wins.
The Chameleons faced a challenging time in the past Reinforced Conference, losing their final seven matches and dropping their first two games in the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference.
“Siguro leadership talaga and actually kasi hindi naman talaga ako vocal. Gusto ko talaga yung parang in action ko gawin para hindi sila nape-pressure,” Laure said, emphasizing her approach to leadership through action rather than words.
