Having started playing volleyball late in life, Mylene Paat is a natural talent who quickly blossomed into an all-around player during her time with the Adamson University.
Paat was considered one of the best young players in 2015 and was nearly slotted into the stacked Philippine Women’s National U23 Volleyball Team team that year, which included Alyssa Valdez, Jia Morado, Jaja Santiago, and Myla Pablo, to name a few.
But the langky lefty was left out of the lineup due to a miscommunication between Adamson and those behind the U23 squad, leaving Paat disappointed.
Three years later, Paat finally gets her chance to don the country’s colors after being called up to replace Ces Molina in the Asian Games lineup for this August.
Being part of the 20-woman pool was already blessing, so Paat is ecstatic to hear that she has been tapped for the main roster.
“Sobrang excited ko. Pangarap ko ‘to noong nasa college pa ako, kahit college pa lang talaga ako nag-start mag-volleyball. Nilu-look up ko ‘yung mga players sa National Team,” shared the 23-year old spiker, adding that she was distraught to learn about Molina’s injury
“Kung si Ate Ces talaga, believe ako doon kasi sobrang sipag niya. Ina-idolize ko siya talaga. ‘Yung pagpasok ko sa pool, blessing na ‘yun sa akin. Sabi ko, ‘yun na ‘yung umpisa. Noong binalita sa akin na papalitan ko si Ate Ces, puro excitement lang kasi first time ko ‘to.”
More than anything, Paat’s splendid play in the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Invitational Cup propelled her to elite status among her peers.
Norming 14 pouints per outing, Paat was pivotal in the Cignal HD Spikers’ run to a bronze medal.
Having finally gotten a break with the club team after nearly two years in the lineup, Paat was thankful.
“Sobrang laking pasasalamat ko sa mga coaches na pinagkatiwalaan nila ako na maging isa sa mga leaders ng team,” the Pangasinan-native expressed.
“Ang laking bagay para sa akin na naisama ako sa starting six namin.”
