For the past two and a half years, Marck Espejo, arguably the Philippines’ best player aside from Bryan Bagunas, had the chance to showcase his skills all over Asia.
Espejo suited up for Visakha in Thailand in 2020 before making the jump to Bahrain to play for Bani Jamra. Then, to cap off his tour, the five-time Spikers’ Turf MVP went back to Japan to play for FC Tokyo.
It has been quite a ride for Espejo, who had the luxury to play despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the same cannot be said for his fellow Filipino players who were stuck here in the Philippines waiting for the return of Spikers’ Turf.
That’s why when the Philippines’ top men’s volleyball league finally made its much-awaited comeback at the Paco Arena on Tuesday afternoon, Espejo could not hide his joy.
And it’s not just for himself, but for the entire community as well.
“Syempre para sa men’s volleyball sa Pilipinas, syempre masaya ako kasi nga these past three years active pa rin naman ako sa volleyball pero sa abroad nga lang,” said Espejo, who last played on home soil back in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
“Masaya ako na nag-laro ulit ako sa Cignal para i-represent ulit sila. Pero ‘di lang ako masaya para sa team ko, masaya rin ako para sa lahat ng players na magpa-participate dito sa Spikers’ Turf. I’m sure lahat gigil, lahat gusto talagang mag-laro kasi ang tagal na walang liga,” he added.
Espejo poured seven points in his Spikers’ Turf return, leading the HD Spikers to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-22 victory over Sta. Rosa City in the Open Conference.
Despite the three-set win, it was not a flawless outing for Cignal as they committed 19 errors all throughout the match which lasted for an hour and 38 minutes.
Still, despite that, Espejo said that he is just glad to finally see men’s volleyball back in action. He is also hoping to see a much better performance from the team when they take on Army on Saturday at 2:30 PM.
“Dahil nga sobrang tagal, kagaya ng nangyari sa amin kanina parang sobrang gigil lahat, wala sa timing, ang daming errors, siguro dahil nga excited lahat pero I’m sure, ako yung nagsasalita dito pero I’m sure lahat ng players sobrang excited na excited na mag-laro.”
