Galeries Tower ended its 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference winless, but Julia Coronel believes that with time and proper preparation now on their side, the team will come back stronger.
The Highrisers transitioned to a new head coach in late August, with former assistant Godfrey Okumu taking over after the team parted ways with Lerma Giron.
That coaching change gave the Galeries Tower players just over a month to learn Okumu’s system and gear up for the Reinforced Conference.
“Siguro, I was kind of personally expecting a lot more from the team, but again, given the short preparation… Siyempre transitioning into the system of Coach Gody, we only had around two months before the tournament started or even less,” Coronel said on Thursday after the Highrisers’ final game at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“We lost some players along the way and then obviously our import also came along, and she kind of came in a bit late, so probably a week or two before the conference started. So I would say that’s not enough time to prepare.”
Despite the challenges, the 2024 PVL Draft third overall pick refuses to use them as excuses. Instead, she sees them as lessons — proof that with better preparation, the Highrisers can finally turn their aspirations into results.
(C) PVL Images
Coronel also took accountability for the 0-8 campaign, admitting there were moments she could have executed better to help the team gain momentum.
“Again, that’s not an excuse, pero I feel like we could’ve achieved a lot more sana this conference if we had more time also to prepare and gel with each other,” she said.
“Personally, I know there were a lot of decision-making on my end that could have gone a lot better especially with yung options ko sa spikers ko. Siguro as a team naman, I think more ano pa rin maturity and that killer instinct yun pa rin talaga yung kulang.”
While a win was elusive, several players still made their mark in this conference.
2025 second overall pick Jean Asis emerged as a revelation at the net, while Ysa Jimenez and France Ronquillo also delivered solid performances — enough for Okumu to believe the Highrisers are just beginning to tap into their true potential.
“This conference, yes, the results were not what we expected or what we wanted to take home. But every challenge, it’s a lesson that we learn as we go along,” said Okumu.
“We’ve learned a few things and given a chance, next conference we’ll be able to improve on the lessons that we’ve learned. Yes, some games were so heartbreaking, but some showed us that we are strong, we can still fight.”
