From queening in her UAAP days with La Salle to reigning in the PVL with Creamline, Michele Gumabao has found volleyball success. Add the MVP crown to her hardware cabinet.
Whether it's in the UAAP or in the PVL, success has followed Michele Gumabao wherever she goes.
Gumabao’s latest triumph came in a big way, as she took home her first-ever PVL MVP award and her 10th title with the Creamline Cool Smashers.
Creamline also completed the historic grand slam, becoming the first team to win the All-Filipino, Reinforced, and Invitational Conference championships in a single season.
But if you ask the newly-crowned PVL MVP about the award, Gumabao would be the first to say her focus has always been on winning the title.
“Pinaka-importante talaga 'yung championship kasi 'yun 'yung talagang pinaghirapan namin as a team. Everything else talagang bonus nalang talaga 'yun para sa amin,” Gumabao said during the post-championship press conference.
“It's really one team, one family kami and 'yung goal naman namin is not really individual pero manalo kami as a team, so 'yun talaga 'yung pinaka-goal and super happy kasi nagawa namin ito sama-sama,” she added.
Whether as a starter or coming off the bench, Gumabao has delivered time and time again. In the Reinforced and in the Invitational Conferences, she had to step up as captain with Alyssa Valdez at the sidelines.
[ALSO READ: PVL: Michele Gumabao bares how Creamline players stay ready amid absence of stars in Reinforced Conference]
But what exactly has made Gumabao so successful, whether with DLSU or now with the Cool Smashers?
“Malakas talaga kami kay Lord, sobra-sobra. As in, grabe 'yung tiwala lang din talaga and 'yung tiwala lang din talaga sa teammates,” Gumabao explained.
“I think I've been blessed to be part of amazing teams na talagang ready to fight all the time and to also be led by coaches that give it their best din every time sa training, every time sa court, and talagang siguro 'yung love lang talaga namin for each other, I think nagagawa namin every time we step into the court,” she added.
[ALSO READ: PVL: Michele Gumabao says 2024 Reinforced Conference crown now the ‘hardest’ title for Creamline]
When it’s all said and done, Gumabao will undoubtedly have one of the most stacked volleyball resumes in the country.
Three championships with the DLSU Lady Spikers and ten titles so far with Creamline. Add to that her Best Blocker awards in the UAAP, Best Opposite Spiker citations in the PVL, and now the MVP award.
But more than her skill, swag, and determination, it’s Gumabao’s love for the game that truly made her successful every step of the way.
“I think nakikita naman din talaga ng lahat 'yun kung gaano namin ka-love 'yung ginagawa namin and kung gaano kami ka-thankful na nandito kami sa posisyon na ito, and kung gaano namin ka-love din maglaro playing with each other,” said Gumabao.