BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE — Two years removed from a horrific ACL injury, Maika Ortiz is finally back playing her best volleyball for Chery Tiggo.
And it came at the best possible time for the Crossovers.
Playing against the league-leading Creamline, the University of Santo Tomas Product unleashed her conference-best 13 points — including a game-high five blocks.
More importantly, Chery Tiggo ran away with a four-set, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20 win on Friday night at the PCV Socio Civic and Cultural Center.
For the 29-year-old, it just feels good to be back.
“Thank you Lord nakabalik din. Kasi sobrang tagal ko talaga siya inintay na magkaroon ng liga. Kasi ready na ko last year, liga na lang talaga yung gusto kong mangyari,” said Ortiz.
“Kailangan ko lang ibalik yung kumpiyansa ko from previous games kasi namin, hindi na talaga ako nakalaro. Ngayon, kailangan bumawi ulit ako para sa team namin kasi from loss kailangan mamotivate ko yung mga teammates ko na: ‘Kaya natin ‘to every game is a championship game’.”
The two-time V-League Best Blocker admitted that despite being physically ready, she’s still going through a mental battle which causes her to hesitate at certain times.
Ortiz tore her ACL after a bad fall during Foton’s match against Petron in the Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference back in 2019.
“Nung last time kasi medyo nangangapa pa ako sa mga kilos ko. Ngayon medyo, hundred percent kailangan talaga mentally prepared kasi physically I’m prepared,” said Ortiz.
“Mentally lang kailangan ko i-mindset lang.”
Now with her confidence slowly climbing up, Ortiz will look to sustain her momentum as the Premier Volleyball League now heads to its final week of elimination rounds.
