Afril Bernardino believes that the narrow loss to San Juan fueled New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas’ climb back to the top of the standings as they wrapped up the first round of the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
Bernardino and the Valkyries quickly bounced back with a commanding 100-61 victory over a streaking Solar Home-Pangasinan Suns side on Sunday afternoon at the Olivarez Gym in Tagaytay.
Rather than dwell on the 71-74 defeat to San Juan two weeks ago, Bernardino said that the close loss lit a fire under New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas, helping them enter the season’s halfway point in solo first place with a 3-1 record.
The Valkyries, coached by Cholo Villanueva, made sure that their near-daily practices during New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas’ two-week break paid off, snapping the Suns’ three-game winning streak in the process.
“We practiced every day, we reminded ourselves na from that loss, we have to pick up the pieces again and find our winning ways again,” Bernardino said. She fueled the Valkyries’ second-half surge, finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds, alongside four blocks, three assists, and two steals.
“I think nailabas namin ‘yon in this win [against Solar Home-Pangasinan] and sana ma-carry over namin ito sa second round,” she added.
(C) WMPBL
A major factor in the Valkyries’ first-round success was Villanueva’s ability to find the right mix of players for his system — a blend of battle-tested veterans like Bernardino, Snow Penaranda, and Khate Castillo, alongside the emergence of promising young talent such as Pringle Fabruada and Tin Bariquit.
Ultimately, what made the difference for New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas was the shared vision of Villanueva and Bernardino to cultivate respect and discipline across the team — both on and off the court.
“Lagi kami rine-remind ni coach na maging prepared [and] disciplined every time that we enter the court. And siguro we have to respect each other, gawin lang namin kung ano yung laro namin, and dapat game face lang palagi, even sa practice para ma-sustain namin ito,” the inaugural WMPBL MVP shared.
While the Valkyries have achieved one of their key goals — finishing on top at the season’s halfway mark — Bernardino stressed that New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas should not rest on its laurels in the pursuit of becoming the league’s first-ever regular season champion.
This mindset stems from the fact that the Valkyries hold only a one-game cushion over San Juan, Solar Home-Pangasinan, and Discovery-Rizal, who are tied for second place with identical 3-2 records.
“Alam naman natin lahat na magagandang teams yung nandito sa WMPBL, and all of them are competitive,” she said.
“I think dapat magkaroon lang talaga kami ng discipline sa court… Papagtuloy lang namin yung teamwork sa every practice and every game talaga.”
