Just two weeks ago, Myla Pablo struggled to walk.
Pocari Sweat’s ace had sprained her back against Bali Pure and was advised to rest. But Pablo didn’t want to rest, not when the chance to lead the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors to a third straight title was on the line.
The Lady Warriors could have bought Pablo a bit more time to rest had they won against Air Force last Thursday, but Pocari Sweat were dragged into the quarterfinals.
They needed their elite scorer badly.
Luckily, the 23-year-old was good to go when Pocari Sweat faced off against Air Force again. The former National University Lady Bulldog did not miss a beat, scoring a season-high 28 points in a five-set triumph.
Pocari Sweat head coach Rommel Abella said he had decided to play Pablo just hours before the game. He was relieved that his starting open hitter was healthy enough to play because, as it turned out, he needed her direly.
“We had plans of not using Myla. But we were forced to kasi we wanted to have a great start in the quarterfinals. Wala lang siya sa kundisyon pero good na ‘yung back niya,” said Pocari Sweat head coach Rommel Abella. “Going into training, we were cautious with her. Pero she showed heart kahit sobrang gassed out na niya.”
“Naninibago lang siguro ako kanina. Actually, hindi nga sumakit ‘yung likod ko kanina, ‘yung legs ko. Pero maayos naman. Kayang-kaya,” Pablo told Tiebreaker Times.
The Tarlac-native is now focused on winning the next two games to get the Lady Warriors to the semifinals.
“Mahirap ‘yung next two games namin kaya kailangan talaga pukpukan na kami. Pupusuan na lang namin ‘yung next matches namin,” the 5-foot-9 spiker said.
