CANDON, Ilocos Sur – Jhyson Manzano arrived at the Candon City Arena here on Friday expecting nothing more than his duties as a volunteer.
Manzano, who hails from the nearby town of Santiago, was part of the crew tasked to maintain court safety throughout the 2026 Volleyball All-Star Showcase — wiping sweat off the floor, rotating balls from the sidelines, and ensuring the playing surface remained dry and hazard-free for the players.
A volleyball player himself in inter-town competitions, the 20-year-old court assistant found himself just as immersed in the action as the spectators in the stands, only a few steps away from the court where his favorite players were competing.
He knew the job mattered, so he treated every moment with urgency, staying alert on the sidelines and ready to spring into action whenever the court needed immediate attention.
What he was not ready for, however, was how the game would take an unexpected turn — with his role shifting from court duty to something far beyond what he had imagined.
The PVL All-Star game proved to be both highly competitive and entertaining, with creativity filling each set.
From liberos attempting surprise attacks, to Team Heart head coach Rald Ricafort and even a lines judge stepping up to the service line, to a court assistant suddenly getting a chance to play, the showcase blurred the usual boundaries between roles on and off the court, adding another layer of chaos and entertainment to the spectacle.
And Manzano was enjoying every minute from the sidelines.
That is, until Alyssa Valdez, with Team Heart comfortably ahead, unexpectedly called him over, took the towel he had been using to wipe the floor, and switched places with him — suddenly putting him right into the heart of the action.
(C) PVL Images
For a longtime fan, that alone was already more than enough. But the moment only grew bigger from there.
Already making his way back toward Valdez after Myla Pablo’s cross-court attack pushed Team Heart to match point at 24-17, Manzano was ready to return to his duties — only for Valdez to refuse to let him step off the court and instead allow him to stay in to finish the match.
However, his extended time on the floor appeared to come to a premature end when Kath Arado misreceived Pablo’s serve, sending it out of bounds and seemingly handing Team Heart the win.
But Tots Carlos from the opposing Team Hustle side, along with Valdez and Jia De Guzman, quickly stepped in to appeal to first referee Bobby Celso for a replay. They all hoped to give Manzano — an admitted Creamline fan — one more chance to make the most of his unexpected moment.
Celso eventually heeded the call in the spirit of the exhibition, and Pablo served again.
This time, fellow Ilocano Brooke Van Sickle may or may not have overreceived the ball, allowing De Guzman to set up Manzano for a cross-court attack.
Arado got a touch on the ball to keep it alive, but in the ensuing chaos, Van Sickle again may or may not have mishandled the second contact. That allowed the ball to drop and give Manzano his unexpected game-winning moment.
“Siyempre, nakaka-starstruck kasi ako ‘yung tumapos sa game, tapos first time kong ma-meet sila po,” Manzano told Tiebreaker Times.
“Sila (Bernadeth) Pons, Tots Carlos, (Pangs) Panaga, (Alyssa) Valdez, lahat naman sila idol ko naman po,” he added, soaking in the once-in-a-lifetime moment of sharing the court with his idols.
For Valdez, the decision to let Manzano stay on the floor — and later even push for the replay — was rooted in the spirit of the All-Star showcase, which is built on giving every member of the volleyball community a moment to remember.
Fittingly, with the event also coinciding with Labor Day, the moment served as a reminder of the people working behind the scenes who keep events like this running smoothly — often unnoticed, but just as essential.
“Lahat kasi ng nandito, part ng community. So we want to give also credit to all of them,” said the three-time league MVP after Team Heart’s 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 25-17 win over Team Hustle.
“We want to give that lineup doon sa mga nasa likod ng camera ngayon, part din kayo ng community. Again and again and again, maraming salamat. At the end of the day, we just celebrate volleyball today — everyone na parte ng volleyball.”
What began with him fulfilling duties on the sidelines ended with him standing inside the lines, caught in a sequence that turned chaos into a story he will be telling long after the arena in Candon slowly emptied and went quiet.
“Sobrang special kasi minsan lang ‘to mangyari sa buhay ko,” Manzano said with a smile that only that moment could bring.
