Hard to believe that she wasn't supposed to be a starter at the start.
It is hard to imagine Mich Morente not being part of the PLDT High Speed Hitters’ first six—not after a impressing in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.
But, according to Morente herself, she was supposed to come off the bench—or at least that was what she thought.
“Actually, hindi naman talaga ako ’yung dapat na nasa first six,” Morente admitted in One Sports’ The Game. “But I just did my job, and I guess I earned my spot.”
Morente earned her spot, all right, leading PLDT to the semis, where the High Speed Hitters took the eventual runners-up Petro Gazz Angels to a decider, before falling short.
Putting it simply, Morente emerged not only as PLDT’s best player, but also its leader. And it appears it dawned on Morente only recently how big of a responsibility was put on her shoulders—especially for someone who did not even have a team just weeks before the PVL’s opening tournament was set to unfurl.
“Hindi ko alam na ang bigat pala ng role ko sa team. I never saw it that way,” said Morente. “I just wanted to play, I just wanted to show everyone my talent, I just wanted to show the team and the management who trusted me with this role in the team. After the tournament ko lang na-realize na ang bigat pala ng role ko.”
Indeed, a leadership role is quite the burden—so much that it can overwhelm others.
Not Morente. Not then, not now. In fact, she is embracing this role more than ever.
“This coming season I’m working on myself to help the team pa, to be more consistent throughout the games,” vowed Morente. “Kung ano pa ‘yung kaya ko ibigay sa team, all-out lang.”
Morente and her High Speed Hitters will look to improve on their semis finish from last conference as the PVL Invitational Conference unfurls on June 27.