Former Ateneo standout Pia Ildefonso has embraced a sudden role change in her professional debut with Farm Fresh on Tuesday in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
In the Foxies’ straight-set loss against Petro Gazz, the 5-foot-9 middle blocker tallied two points as an open spiker when she was substituted in the latter half of the third and final set.
“Nagulat ako kasi [pinasok ako] open spiker yung position and role ko kanina,” said Ildefonso after Farm Fresh’s 21-25, 29-31, 17-25 loss at the hands of the Angels at the Philsports Arena.
“Surprisingly at salamat naman sa Diyos na okay naman yung napakita tsaka yung pasa especially kasi syempre sa buong UAAP ko never naman ako nag-open.”
The daughter of PBA legend Danny Ildefonso suited up for the Blue Eagles in the UAAP Season 85 beach volleyball tournament. However, she eventually skipped the indoor tilt to focus on her mental health.
Ildefonso said she never really closed the door on a potential return to indoor play. She felt the need to focus on beach volleyball to improve her performance on the Taraflex while continuing to represent the Blue and White in the UAAP.
“Never naman ako nag-goodbye or nag-give up sa indoor. Sadyang nag-rest lang talaga for personal reasons and mental break lang talaga on the indoor scene.
“Kaya kinuha ko na lang is beach volleyball kasi feel ko na parang mas nakaka-galaw ako ng para sa sarili ko sa outdoor. Now na nakuha ko ulit yung kumpyansa, ready na ulit ako mag-indoor,” Ildefonso explained.
Now with the young Farm Fresh in the pros, Ildefonso said that the team’s lack of veterans played a key role in their struggles, which saw them drop to 0-3 in Pool B.
“Kulang kami sa panapos sa end game like yung kapit namin sa isa’t isa or yun nga parang ang dali namin bumigay na lang, yun yung kulang namin talaga,” Ildefonso said.
Moving forward, Ildefonso vowed that the team will work harder as they try to secure the franchise’s first win in the PVL.
The Foxies will face Cignal on Thursday at 6:30 PM in a bid to keep their semifinal dream alive.
“Mag-pe-prepare pa rin kami at wala pa rin magbabago, it’s just another team na aaralin namin at susubukan namin talunin. Parang walang magbabago, it’s just that we’re more eager syempre coming from a three-game losing skid.” (Ernest Martin Tuazon)
