Pauline Gaston paid tribute to her father Fritz Gaston by wearing his jersey number in her first conference with Chery Tiggo.
The 25-year-old Pauline switched to No. 22 in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference after wearing No. 9 with Ateneo and Choco Mucho to honor her father who helped her become the athlete she is today.
Fritz played in the PBA during the 80s and won a championship with the U/Tex Wranglers and the Crispa Redmanizers.
“Kasi po yung dad ko po yung athlete sa family namin so I want to use him as an inspiration kasi ayun po, nakagpaglaro siya ng professional basketball and ako rin [professional volleyball],” said Gaston after the Crossovers’ sweep of Black Mamba-Army.
Pauline said that not everyone gets the prestigious chance of playing professionally which is why she owes everything to her father.
“Hindi lahat ng tao nabibigyan ng ganitong chance and I can of owe it to him because never niya ako pinabayaan,” said the 5-foot-10 spiker.
“Siya yung laging nagpupush sa akin na kahit ang dami ko nang na-try na sports, pinu-push niya pa rin ako to follow my dreams and ayun, kaya I’m wearing his number,” she added.
After getting benched in their debut win against Cignal, Gaston immediately made an impact in her first game against the Lady Troopers. She finished with eight points and seven excellent receptions to help the Crossovers move to 2-0 in the standings.
Ponggay vowed to stay ready if Chery Tiggo needed her to provide a spark off the bench.
“May pwedeng mangyaring injuries or whatever so kaming galing sa bench, ready talaga kasi yung team namin I feel is really a collaborative effort and hindi talaga siya parang isa lang yung umaangat.”
