Games today (The Arena, San Juan)
2:30 p.m. – Philips Gold vs Shopinas
4:30 p.m. – Mane ‘N Tail vs Cignal
MANILA, Philippines - Old volleyball alliances and friendships will be set aside when a pair of lovely belles – Michelle Gumabao and Melissa Gohing – clash with their former teammates in the 2015 Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference today at The Arena in San Juan.
Now carrying the colors of Philips Gold, Gumabao and Gohing face Shopinas at 2:30 p.m. while Mane ‘N Tail and Cignal collide at 4:30 p.m.
After campaigning for AirAsia and Generika together with their former teammates in De La Salle University in the past two conferences, Gumabao and Gohing left the Lady Clickers for a change of environment in their quest for that elusive first PSL crown.
But in their debut game against Petron, powered by another former Lady Archer in Aby Marano, Gumabao and Gohing missed their comfort zones as they failed to make an impact that led to a sorry straight-sets loss for the Lady Slammers.
“It felt strange facing Aby for the first time, so what more if we face coach Ramil (de Jesus) and our former La Salle teammates?” said Gumabao, who finished with a forgettable seven kills for a total of eight points in their opening-day loss.
“We may not be teammates this conference, but we will always be friends at heart. But I have a mission to accomplish and that is to help Philips Gold win a championship.”
Philips Gold’s Francis Vicente admitted that his team is still a work in progress and setter Iris Tolenada, the top overall pick who won the Most Valuable Player plum in the competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association, is still finding her groove as well as rookies Myla Pablo and Desiree Dadang.
“We’re still jelling,” he said.