Army-Black Mamba head coach Kung Fu Reyes is finally back on the sidelines on Tuesday after missing the team’s last three games due to COVID-19.
Reyes’ return is a much-needed boost for the Lady Troopers, who are in the running for one of the final three spots in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Invitational semifinals.
“Na-miss ko yung may kausap kasi for eight days or almost 10 days na kinakausap ko yung salamin. Miss na miss ko na yung bisekleta ko kasi nga yun ang workout ko e,” said Reyes with a laugh.
The Lady Troopers scored a crucial three-set win over the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, to move an inch closer to the next round which also features overseas amateur squads Kobe Shinwa Women’s University of Japan and King Whale Taipei from Taiwan.
Army, led by Ivy Perez and Jovelyn Gonzaga, stepped up in their head coach’s absence and went on a two-game winning streak before eventually losing to PLDT last Saturday.
The loss against the High Speed Hitters was definitely a hard pill to swallow for Reyes and the Lady Troopers. After all, they dominated the opening set before losing the next three sets.
“Iba yung pakiramdam na on hand ka doon sa training that’s why nung nakuha ko na yung diploma ko sa health center nung Sunday, nagpa-ensayo kaagad ako nung Sunday after nun kasi nakita ko yung game sa PLDT nung Sabado,” shared Reyes.
“Doon sila hindi naka-balik sa sistema namin. Ang ganda ng first set tapos nung two, three, four doon nag-bago ang complex ng laro. Nawala lahat yung pinaghirapan that moment so that’s why medyo ‘di naging maganda yung resulta ng laro,” he added.
Now that he’s back, Reyes hopes that they can prevent the same thing from happening again and just continue to build on their win against the Crossovers.
“Ngayon, nandito na ako. Tulong tulong ulit kami i-remind lang sila nang i-remind kung anong meron sila and back to the system para everything will be controlled.”
Army, which now stands at 3-2, is now a win away from securing its seat in the playoffs. A Choco Mucho loss in one of its next two matches will automatically push the Lady Troopers to the next round.
