Jovelyn Gonzaga played for the Cignal HD Spikers on Tuesday evening. Less than a day after, she suited up for the PacificTown-Army Lady Troopers.
Though she has played in numerous back-to-back matches in her career, none was as grueling as the one that she had on Wednesday.
Gonzaga came from Cadiz City, where Cignal absorbed a three-set defeat to F2 Logistics. In other words, she played two highly-competitive games in less than 24 hours after a roughly 698-kilometer flight.
The 27-year-old spiker admitted that playing nonstop for the past few weeks entails fatigue and restlessness. As she put it:
“Pagod, tao lang rin naman ako na napapagod.”
Still, the Bionic Ilongga, who just recovered from an ACL injury she incurred way back 2017, just wants to still cling on to her goal: “To enjoy one game at a time.”
“Every day I have to enjoy. Ayoko kasing pressuring ang sarili ko,” she further confided moments after tallying four points, 12 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions in PacificTown-Army’s four-set loss to Creamline.
“The more ko na pe-pressurin ang sarili ko, the more na magawa ko ang mga bagay beyond may limit, baka ibuwis buhay ko na naman.”
Gonzaga also shared that she doesn’t have the luxury to train in between games. For this, she has constantly expressed her gratitude to both Cignal and Army for understanding her situation.
And to pay off the good faith, she is willing to play through adversity.
“Hindi ako nakakaensayo. Both sides naman naiintindihan ang situation ko. I’m embracing the situation,” the two-time V-League MVP confessed. “This time I’m at the point na kung ano lang ang kaya ko yun muna ang ipapakita ko.
“I have to overcome each day.”
Moreover, her double duty will continue tomorrow, Thursday at Silay, Negros Occidental.
In spite of her hectic volleyball schedule, Gonzaga vowed to keep her health in check.
“Alam naman ng tao, alam ko naman sa sarili ko how I play pero para sa akin for now, my security and my safety ang most important.”
