Coach O is trusting the three-time NCAA MVP with bigger responsibilities.
37 minutes full of thrilling, back-and-forth volleyball action. That’s what the fans saw in the first set of the matchup between the Petro Gazz Angels and Cignal HD Spikers at the PhilSports Arena.
Both teams, who were finalists of the 2022 Reinforced Conference, showed their championship mettle until the very end of that opening set—until Petro Gazz eked out a 28-26 win.
It was a different ballgame in the next two sets. It can be said that Cignal lost their mojo, but it can also be argued that Petro Gazz just turned it up a notch to take the victory in straight sets, 28-26, 25-18, 25-13.
In the middle of that next-level play by the Angels is Grethcel Soltones.
The San Sebastian alum scored 14 points on 13 attacks and 1 block to help Petro Gazz grab the win. Soltones, who played off the bench in the previous conference, is making the most of the starting role that she now has, and the significant touches that come with it.
Apparently, this has been coach Oliver Almadro’s plan all along. A plan he devised with no less than Soltones herself.
“Balik natin ‘yung prime Grethcel. Sabi niya, ‘Sige coach, trabahuhin natin ‘yan,” Almadro said of his conversation with the outside hitter.
Coach O, who was already smiling when the question about Soltones’ emergence was brought up, gave the credit back to the day’s best player of the game. “’Pag sinabi niyang tatrabahuhin niya, ‘yun ang maganda eh, pinapangatawanan niya.”
Soltones, the 2017 PVL Open Conference Finals MVP as part of BaliPure, appreciates the trust from her coach. “Sobrang thankful ako kasi ganun pala ‘yung tiwala niya sa akin. Eh kalaban ko dati ito,” she said.
“Ang mapa-promise ko lang din na hindi ko siya bibiguin.”
And the volleyball veteran knows there’s still a lot more to give. She might be reemerging, but she’s far from her best. “Di pa,” she said unsolicitedly while Almadro speaks of her returning to MVP form.
That’s clearly a motivation for herself, but maybe the rest of PVL should consider it a warning.