Wilma Salas is back.
No, she did not miss any games in Petro Gazz’s first five matches of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, but one could say her performance was lacking compared to what Filipino fans were used to during her first stint in 2019.
The 33-year-old Cuban import detonated for 34 huge points, leading the Angels to a 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12 escape against the Creamline Cool Smashers at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Salas’s output, which came from 33 attacks and an ace, was her conference high by far, surpassing her 22-point performance in their loss to Akari in the first round.
“I know this game is important and for sure, as I said in other interviews, my body was not prepared until like two weeks or something like this. But now, I feel better, so you can see more of this Wilma on the court for sure,” said a confident Salas, who also tallied 17 excellent digs.
Coming into the conference, the 6-foot-2 wing spiker admitted that she was still not in her best shape, which showed in the first round where the Angels finished in the bottom three of Pool B with a 2-3 record.
In four of their five matches, it was Brooke Van Sickle who led Petro Gazz in scoring while Salas provided support.
With the fire now back in her eyes, Salas vowed to give her all in the crossover round as the Angels seek to enter the quarterfinals.
Petro Gazz is currently in seventh place with a 3-3 record and will still face PLDT and Chery Tiggo.
“For sure we want to fight in this second round so much because we know we need these games,” she added.
