Kianna Dy’s road to recovery from a grueling knee injury was far from easy, but it became more bearable with long-time partner Dwight Ramos by her side.
After 18 months away from the court, Dy made her return to the Taraflex last January, gradually working her way back. All the blood, sweat, and tears from those long and difficult days of rehab finally paid off on Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Not only did Dy regain her fiery form as a lethal opposite spiker, she also reached the top of the volleyball world as PLDT captured its first-ever PVL championship in the 2025 PVL On Tour, surviving Chery Tiggo in a five-set thriller, 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 24-26, 15-8.
Given her extended recovery period, which lasted more than a year, the De La Salle University product feels grateful to have Ramos, who understood her struggles as a fellow athlete.
“As an athlete, he understands din what I’m going through. So every time I would be negative, he would say na patience lang, and he would help me go through it. I’m happy na he understands also what I’m going through so he helps me,” Dy said of Ramos’ role in her journey back.
Dy also expressed her joy that Ramos, along with her entire family, was there to witness her and the High Speed Hitters finally break through in the PVL.
Ramos, a Gilas Pilipinas mainstay who plays for the Levanga Hokkaido in the B.League, made the moment even more special for Dy, knowing he is rarely in the Philippines.
“Happy, of course, kasi si Dwight minsan lang nandito sa Philippines, and I’m glad he was able to watch the Finals. He’s actually leaving on Tuesday already. He wanted to watch the game,” she shared.
In the championship match, Dy chipped in 13 points, joining three other High Speed Hitters in double digits — Savi Davison with 23, Finals MVP Mika Reyes with 20, and Majoy Baron also with 13.
Now a PVL champion, Dy is simply grateful that she never gave up, despite the setbacks brought about by her nearly two-year battle with injury.
“I mean I’ve been waiting for this for more than a year now and I’m happy that I stayed patient. It wasn’t really easy, it wasn’t very easy and literally blood, sweat, and tears, and finally ito na yung moment na champion na kami.”
