"Sobrang sarap sa puso. Out of all the teams, dito siya napunta sa amin."
Myla Pablo really wanted to know what it was like to play under coach Ramil de Jesus, who led the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers to five championships in the Philippine Super Liga.
Now that F2 Logistics moved to the Premier Volleyball League, the outside hitter grabbed her chance right after she helped Petro Gazz defend their Reinforced Conference title in 2022.
But it wasn't just Coach Ramil's system she wanted to experience, it was how the Cargo Movers management treated its players.
"'Yung alaga ang players ng management, kahit na may iniinda 'yung mga player, 'di nila talaga pinupush na mag-training or maglaro, so pinapahinga nila. Siyempre kailangan meron din silang back-up na player, 'yun 'yung nagustuhan ko sa F2 kaya lumipat din ako," Pablo told One Sports on Monday.
F2 Logistics notably had a rough start to the 2022 Reinforced Conference with
captain Lindsay Stalzer out due to health protocols and libero Dawn Macandili at the sidelines due to an injury. That led to an interesting sight — captain Aby Maraño and Ara Galang wearing libero uniforms.
The Cargo Movers did manage to bounce back but fail to enter the final four, leading to an emotional farewell from the competitive Stalzer.
This time, they revamped and bid goodbye to six players, signing up
National University's Chinnie Arroyo
and Petro Gazz' Pablo.
Maraño couldn't help but gush with the welcome addition of the 2018 Reinforced Conference Most Valuable Player to reinforce their wings, "Knowing her, she was able to show her optimum performance last conference, she's not the Best Outside Hitter for nothing. So malaking bagay sa amin."
"Nakaka-boost ng confidence, ng morale, having her in our team. Just the thought of her choosing our team, sobrang sarap sa puso. Out of all the teams, dito siya napunta sa amin," Maraño told One Sports. "Thankful and grateful lang talaga ako dun."
There will still be no de Jesus for F2 but the team got Regine Diego, who did play for Coach Ramil back in De La Salle University. She's a champion coach herself, as she led the NU Lady Bullpups to a sweep of the UAAP Season 84 tournament.
So it wasn't too much of a stretch for Pablo, who will be looking to provide more than her skills for F2.
"Kailangan 'yung maturity as a team, kung paano mo iaangat yung ibang player, kung paano iaangat kung sino walang laro, kung sino tahimik, kailangan i-push sa loob ng court," she added.