It's a whole new ball game at the PVL now.
After the Cignal HD Spikers ended their up-and-down PVL All-Filipino Conference on a winning note, coach Shaq Delos Santos was candid enough to admit that his team needs to work on pretty much everything during the offseason. He also promised to build a more solid foundation for his HD Spikers come the PVL Invitational—something Cignal intends to do right after the Holy Week break.
And while he may be disappointed by Cignal’s early exit, he also knows it is a lot harder to win now in the PVL, and the HD Spikers found that out the hard way.
“Ako sa tingin ko, 'yung volleyball ngayon, ‘tong PVL , iba na ‘yung labanan,” said Delos Santos, “Kumbaga, kailangan pupunta ka rito na ready, kundisyon ka dapat. Kasi kahit sabihin mong maganda ‘yung laro mo ngayon, susunod na game, pwede mag-iba.”
"Nag-o-observe din ako sa ibang teams, ‘O, okay ‘to maglaro’ then pagdating ng next biglang mas okay din ‘yung kalaban,” he added.
From the looks of it, the affable coach more than welcomes the increasing level of play in the PVL. In fact, he is embracing it and looking forward to the challenge of making his team better. As for the four teams who did make it to the semifinals, he only has kind words. And he will be watching closely—both as an opposing coach and as a volleyball fan.
“Nakakatuwa, ang ganda nung labanan. Sabi ko nga, ‘tong semifinals sobrang bakbakan talaga, sarap panoorin, so suporta ko sa lahat sa kanila,” Delos Santos shared. “Siyempre, buong PVL naman dinadala natin dito, so happy ako sa kanila na sila ‘yung maglalaro ng semifinals.”
Of course, Delos Santos would rather be coaching his team in the semis than just watching it. But if they can level up their play like the rest of the league did, they might have a good chance at contending next conference.