Jonah Sabete and Jovie Prado have been tearing it up in the 2019 PVL Open Conference.
The two have been at the forefront of Petro Gazz’s balanced offensive thrust. Time and time again, they have delivered the goods for the Angels with their scoring prowess, while making their presence felt on the defensive end.
But before the Petro Gazz tandem became the all-around duo they are today, the two were once lost in the brilliant glow of imports Janisa Johnson and Wilma Salas in their title conquest of the import-laden conference.
“I’m happy na silang dalawa ‘yung katabi ko dito talaga. Gusto niyo malaman kung bakit?” said Petro Gazz head coach Arnold Laniog, who sat beside Sabete and Prado in the post-game presser moments after the Angels booked their return trip to the Finals on Sunday.
“Kasi after namin mag Finals [sa Reinforced Conference] last time talaga, eh eto si Jovie, parang service specialist namin doon. Kumabaga, I really prepared [these] two players talaga for this Open conference,” he then bared.
“In terms of production talaga, talagang kinausap namin ‘tong dalawa na kailangan niyong pumukpok talaga pagdating sa puntos.”
As Petro Gazz began life without its reinforcements, Sabete and Prado stepped up to the plate. And there’s no question that their all-around brilliance has been the driving force behind the Angels’ incredible run through the 2019 PVL Open Conference.
Having steered Petro Gazz to the second seed at the end of the preliminaries, Sabete and Prado remained reliable for their team in the semifinals series against the BanKo Perlas Spikers, leading up to their second straight Finals appearance.
For the Petro Gazz duo, they simply drew strength and motivation from the experience and criticisms they received in the Reinforced Conference.
“Almost lahat din naman sa teammates namin nilu-look namin sila [doubters] as a motivation kasi gusto namin patunayan sa kanila na mali ‘yung sinasabi nila, kasi may tiwala kami sa bawat isa na kaya namin mag-finals talaga,” Sabete admitted.
Prado then chimed in, saying, “Madami din kaming natutunan sa kanila, sa mga imports namin, na nagamit po namin ngayon. And mas looking forward kami na mas ma-improve pa kung ano ‘yung pwede namin matututunan.”
Carrying the responsibility of leading Petro Gazz back to the promised land, expect Sabete and Prado to display the same kind of vigor when the Angels return to action on November 6, Wednesday, for Game One of the championship series.
