She has indeed found a home in PLDT.
When 2023 came along, Michelle “Mich” Morente did not have a team in the Premier Volleyball League. Fast forward to now and she has maybe found more than just a team. Morente has found a home—and a coach who believes in her 100%.
That home is the PLDT High Speed Hitters. That coach is Rald Ricafort.
And after helping the High Speed Hitters win their second consecutive game Tuesday night and deal the Chery Tiggo Crossovers their first loss, Morente made sure to tell her coach how grateful she is of the trust being given her.
“Gusto ko lang mag-thank you kay coach kasi, siyempre, 'yun ‘yung pinaka-aantay ko—na may magtiwala sa akin throughout the months,” Morente said after PLDT’s match with Chery Tiggo. “Grateful ako kay coach kasi binigyan niya ko ng chance na makabalik, na mabigay ko 'yung laro ko.”
And it appears Morente is not letting this chance go to waste, noting how she still needs to improve if she is to continue repaying Ricafort’s trust.
“Feeling ko kulang pa e, so konting push pa,” Morente added, before identifying aspects of her game she still needs to improve. One of them, according to the former Black Mamba-Army spiker, is consistency.
“Be more consistent, less errors. Siyempre, sino bang may gusto ng errors,” Morente admitted when asked what she still needs to work on. “Feeling ko 'yun lang talaga. Maging consistent lang and support lang sa team. Kung hindi ako makapuntos, andun ako sa depensa.”
Morente will need to work doubly hard with the High Speed Hitters getting set to test the mettle of Ricafort’s old team, the Petro Gazz Angels. Ricafort would want to win the Thursday match for sure, partly because it is against his former players, but more so because it is a barometer as to how PLDT stacks up against the PVL’s elite.
As long as Morente keeps repaying Ricafort’s trust, then the High Speed Hitters might be on their way to being elite themselves