Myla Pablo, along with Melissa Gohing and Michele Gumabao, turned Pocari Sweat into a Premiere Volleyball League dynasty.
In 2016, the trio lifted the Lady Warriors to both the Open and Reinforced Conference titles. When Gumabao left in 2017, Pablo and Gohing led Pocari Sweat to the Reinforced Conference championship to gain an unprecedented third straight title.
2018 saw the total disbandment of the trio, as Gumabao and Gohing both signed with Pocari Sweat’s PVL rivals Creamline Cool Smashers, leaving Pablo to lead the Lady Warriors.
On Sunday, the trio met for the first time on opposing sides of the court. Pablo played valiantly through an elbow injury, but her Lady Warriors fell short against the Cool Smashers.
After coming up against her old teammates for the first time, Pablo admitted that she still felt sentimental and friendly towards Gumabao and Gohing.
“Wala naman, normal lang.
“Nakaka-excite lang kasi dati mong teammates and kalaban mo na sila ngayon. Namo-motivate din ako kasi pareho kami nang hinahabol na goal. Tapos magkakilala na rin kami sa mga laro namin kaya mas maganda ‘yung laro aa court,” shared Pablo, who managed 12 points against Creamline.
Their famliarity on the court also led to some banter.
“Medyo nagka-anuhan lang kami kasi si Michele lagi akong target sa serve, pero naa-outside ‘yung iba niyang serve kaya sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Ayan ha, tinatarget mo ako, kaya outside eh.’
“Normal lang namin sa amin ‘yun,” the 24-year-old recalled.
Sitting on a 1-2 record, Pocari Sweat’s captain reveals that they are not panicking, since they still have plenty of games left.
“Sabi ng coaches namin na okay lang naman na ganito kami sa simula kasi marami pa kaming games, so kailangan lang namin bumawi. Importante na maagapan namin ‘yung mga pagkukulang namin sa game kanina,” the former PVL Most Valuable Player said.
“Confident pa rin naman kami as a team. Alam namin na champion kami so kailangan namin magtrabaho pa and panindigan ‘yung status namin.”
