Faith Nisperos cherishes her first PVL semifinal appearance with the Akari Chargers, remaIning confident in herself to deliver for the team, whether as a starter or coming off the bench.
Faith Nisperos took a moment to let it sink in—Akari is heading to the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference semifinals, and this time, she’s playing a key role in making it happen.
Nisperos tallied 15 points to help the Chargers complete the comeback and sweep the best-of-three series against the Galeries Tower Highrisers in Game 2, 19-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 15-12, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Thursday, March 20.
For the 25-year-old spiker, the milestone is even more special as she finally gets to chase a deeper playoff run alongside teammate Fifi Sharma.
[ALSO READ: PVL: Fifi Sharma goes down with ankle injury in Akari’s quarterfinal clash vs Galeries Tower]
The two sat out Akari’s Finals run in the 2024 Reinforced Conference due to their stint with Alas Pilipinas women.
“Well, the first thing I really said, ‘Wow kasama na kami sa semis.’ ‘Yun nga magkasama na kami ni Fifi,” Nisperos said during the post-game press conference. “We both want to play for Akari, this time naman, with us in the semis.”
“Very fulfilling being in the sidelines last conference siyempre na-inspire din kami na one day sama kami diyan and na-achieve na namin. So, ayun job is not finished naman tuloy pa rin.”
Nisperos’ path to this moment hasn’t been easy. From her transition from Alas Pilipinas to Akari, she has had to work her way into a consistent role—something she admits wasn’t always smooth sailing.
Despite this, the former Ateneo standout continued to persevere, eventually ranking 7th among Best Spikers after the preliminary round with a 32.03% success rate.
“My position is not what I always want na ‘yun nga maging starter kasi anyone wants to be a starter. When it comes to confidence, we’re all human. Hindi mawawala ‘yung doubt but what’s important is whenever doubt comes in, you just have to keep the faith na huwag kang bumigay, maniwala ka lang na aangat ka din ulit. So, naniwala lang din ako,” Nisperos explained.
[ALSO READ: Faith Nisperos beams with confidence in Akari’s PVL season-opening win against Galeries Tower]
Now, as the Chargers gear up for an even tougher challenge in the round-robin semifinals, Nisperos is staying focused and determined to prove that Akari’s run is far from over.