Safe to say, Sunday was not Creamline’s night. It even rubbed off on their star Alyssa Valdez.
In her storied career, the Phenom has delivered her share of facials. But on Sunday, the three-time V-League Most Valuable Player unfortunately found herself on the receiving end.
In the first set, fellow Atenean Dzi Gervacio soared over two blockers and drove one right into Valdez’s face that gave the Perlas Lady Spikers a 13-8 lead.
“I really thought it was going out kasi flat ball ata s’ya. I just hit it hard, and then, ‘Okay, outside siya’,” Gervacio recalled.
“And then parang pag-ganun [motioning sideways] nung isang tao, it was Alyssa behind her tapos sakto. I really thought it was going out. Sakto lang na may umiwas tapos si Alyssa yung nasa likod. Ayun, public enemy number one na ako. I didn’t see it coming din… Na it was going inside pa.”
Valdez, however, feels that she is not exempt from getting a facial. She remembers getting her share of hard hits to the face during her early years.
“Everyone loves Dzi, and I love Dzi also, and yung mga teammates ko dati sa Ateneo, nasa Perlas din,” said the Batangueña, after Creamline’s four-set loss to Perlas.
“It’s part of the game. Wala, ganoon lang talaga. Naaalala ko nga nung bata ako eh. Wala lang naman, it’s part of the game. And it’s really, Dzi is really doing well for Perlas. We’re all happy for Dzi.”
As for her team’s lackluster performance, Valdez hopes they get settled in as the season moves along.
“For the next game, yun, madami kaming kailangan i-improve, kailangan namin i-check kung ano ang mga naging errors namin, yung chemistry namin as a team, madami, madami,” the 23-year-old said.
“It’s really a long road, a long journey for Creamline. We’re just starting as a team, and we’re really looking forward on improving on the skills and attitude namin as players.”
