The past year has been a great learning experience for Tots Carlos.
Joining a star-studded Creamline squad, the 23-year-old opposite hitter spent the first few games of the 2021 PVL Open Conference coming off the bench. She eventually earned the starting opposite role in the Cool Smashers’ rotation.
Carlos immediately made her presence felt, helping the Cool Smashers enter the finals of the Bacarra bubble. There, they ended up losing to Chery Tiggo in three games.
Tough as it was, the University of the Philippines product still made sure to absorb all the lessons from that loss. Moreover, she vowed to come out better in the next conference.
And that, she did.
“Like what I always say, yun nga. Lahat ng pawis, lahat ng iyak namin during the bubble, lahat ng mga nangyari the last year, last conference, the experience… Sobrang dami kong natutunan. So ayon,” said Carlos after Creamline’s championship-clinching Game Two win over Petro Gazz.
Carlos emerged as the go-to scorer of the team, which has two former league Most Valuable Players in Alyssa Valdez and Jema Galanza.
In the end, the opposite spiker out of Lubao, Pampanga received her much-deserved recognition. She won both the Best Opposite Spiker and Most Valuable Player awards.
She also becomes the third Cool Smasher to win the MVP plum.
But more importantly, Carlos – who used the 2021 finals loss as one of her motivations for this conference – put Creamline back on the top of the PVL with 19 points in the championship-clinching, 25-18, 15-25, 25-23, 25-16 Game Two win over the Angels on Friday night.
“Sobrang sarap kasi yung tinrabaho talaga namin, hindi lang naman this season eh. Even from last year. So talagang kinapos lang kami last year, so gusto talaga naming bumawi this season. So ayun, ‘pag training, focus talaga lahat ng teammates ko and coaches, so talaga tinrabaho talaga namin yung season na ‘to,” said Carlos, who scored 16 points in Game Two.
“Sobrang fulfilling kasi sabi ko nga kanina, yun nga, yung pinaghahandaan namin even from last year. So yung makabawi talaga, sobrang sarap and sobrang saya kasi, lalo na sobrang dami naming napapasayang tao.”
For Carlos, this win is just the beginning of her growth as a professional volleyball player. And she’s just glad to have this moment together with her Creamline family.
“I think yung pagiging pamilya ng team na ‘to… Kasi very open yung mga tao and yung intention talaga is to help each other. So sobrang mahal ko ‘tong pamilyang ‘to talaga sobra,” said Carlos.
“I think it’s another start for me, of growth. Kasi ayun nga, ang dami kong natututunan. And I think eto pa lang yung start talaga ng career, so I’m really looking forward sa mga susunod pa na liga.”
