Now under the tutelage of a new coach, and surrounded by a bunch of fresh faces, Katherine Bell remains undaunted.
And the 26-year-old winger showcased her willpower on Saturday when Petron collided with Generika-Ayala.
Despite her modest chemistry with the rest of the freshly-minted Blaze Spikers, Bell bucked any cohesion woes with the team through her sheer strength on the court.
She pummeled a game-high 17 points built on attacks, powering Petron on the right track in its three-peat bid.
Photo by Roman Prospero (PSL)
“Coming back, it’s great. I love it so much, you know,” the American-bred hitter admitted moments after a sweep of Generika-Ayala.
“It’s a different environment, different roster, different coaches. But it’s the same kind of philosophy, same mentality, and we’re working hard pushing each other and trying to get to that final draw.”
Bell pointed out that on-court adjustments aren’t a major issue for her. Instead, she acknowledges that learning the respective characters and dispositions of her new teammates entails the biggest adjustment on her end.
“I think the biggest adjustment would just be learning the different personalities. Like I said, certain girls are coming from certain teams, and you know just our environment the gym is completely different,” opined Best Outside Hitter of the 2019 Grand Prix.
Fortunately, Bell and the other mainstays of the team — such as Ces Molina, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Remy Palma — have been able to establish an atmosphere conducive to training. And of course, the newcomers are more than willing to follow suit.
“You know, we’re very focused and we’re very kind of hands-on. There’s not a lot of like, you know, messing around, no laughing. We’re just really focused in the gym,” Bell disclosed.
“So now everything’s going pretty well. There’s no major adjustment and everyone’s gonna get along pretty well.”
Nonetheless, Petron remains a work in progress and Bell is well aware of it.
“It’s just the first match, you know. I think there’s still some work to do. Just with me like in my back defense. But again, it’s the first match, it’s still super early. And like I said, a lot of things to work out, but I feel great,” Bell said.
“We still got some things to work on, but I think it’s going to be pretty good this season.”
