All good things must come to an end for Risa Sato, and now she enters a new chapter in her volleyball career with the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the PVL.
Chery Tiggo’s newest Crossover Risa Sato admits feeling a little homesick for her former team, the Creamline Cool Smashers, on Tuesday. She stood on the sidelines of the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, watching Creamline play against the Capital1 Solar Spikers.
[RELATED: Creamline keeps perfect record after firing past Capital1 in PVL All-Filipino Conference]
But that doesn’t mean that the Filipino-Japanese middle blocker isn’t happy with her decision to leave the powerhouse team after seven years and 10 PVL titles.
Realizing that she is already in a different season of her life, Sato departed from her comfort zone and found a new home in Chery Tiggo, as she faces the latest chapter of her decorated volleyball career.
Acknowledging both her nostalgia and excitement for her old and current teams, Sato was happy to see her former team competing again. Having been with them for so long, Sato hardly noticed anything different, even though she was already an outsider looking in.
“Parang Creamline pa rin 'yung energy. Syempre nami-miss ko 'yung mga [teammates ko sa] Creamline.” Sato told One Sports.
Still, there’s a saying that goes when a door closes, another one opens.
For Sato, the door that opened was an opportunity to grow with the Chery Tiggo Crossovers. Buoyed by a mix of young stars and veterans, the decorated middle blocker fits right in.
[RELATED: PVL: Risa Sato reveals reasons for Creamline departure, Chery Tiggo signing]
Though she’s yet to make her debut with the team, Sato said that it’s been easy to transition into her new role thanks to her teammates.
“Chery Tiggo, sobrang friendly nila. Sobrang happy. I mean, mabait yung mga tao. It’s good,” she said, with her signature grin.
While Sato didn’t promise when she would suit up for the Crossovers, the former NU standout did acknowledge that she would be playing soon, and urged people to look forward to her first game with the team.
“Yes. See you guys.” she said.
Chery Tiggo returns to action on Saturday, January 25, when the Crossovers face the Farm Fresh Foxies at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Crossovers currently tout a 4-3 record.
(With reports from Jamie Velasco, One Sports Digital)