Cocolife taps Serbian import Marta Drpa

MANILA, Philippines – In a serious pursuit of its first title, Cocolife is bringing in a new import for the remainder of the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix.

The Asset Managers announced that former Serbian national team member Marta Drpa will be replacing Taylor Milton of the United States when they face Petron in the final game of classification on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Drpa is a decorated international campaigner.

Together with world-class players like Tijana Boskovic, Milena Rasic and team captain Maja Ognjenovic, Drpa powered the Serbs in the FIVB World Grand Prix, European Cup, European Championship and World Cup in 2015.

She was supposed to suit up in the Rio Olympics in 2016, but some unforeseen circumstances barred her from seeing action.

The Serbians emerged with a silver-medal finish in the Summer Games behind Most Valuable Player Zhu Ting and powerhouse China.

Aside from that, she is a well-travelled club player having played for Serbian sides Crvena Zvezda Beograd, Zeleznicar Lajkovac and Spartak Subotica, Swiss powerhouse Volero Zurich, Romanian squad CSM Tirgoviste and German club SC Postdam.

She will be the second import to join a PSL club midway into the conference.

Earlier, Foton replaced Brooke Kranda of United States with Channon Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago, who made instant impact as she towed the Tornadoes to back-to-back victories despite being far from her perfect shape.

Drpa would be reunited with head coach Moro Branislav and Sara Klisura, whom she reportedly played with in the junior level.

The Asset Managers said there’s a pressing need for them to upgrade their import.

“This tournament is very important to our club so we’re doing everything to win,” said Branislav, who presided a one-on-one workout with Drpa as soon as she landed last Sunday.

The arrival of Drpa would be a major boost to their rotation as they enter the most crucial phase of the tournament.

The 6-foot-3 winger is a natural opposite who would allow Klisura to shift back to the open spiker spot, the role she played for Foton when she scored an erstwhile league high of 41 points.

That record, however, was shattered when Gyselle Silva erupted for 56 points in Smart’s five-set loss to Cocolife over the weekend.

And it’s a testament of how tough, how competitive the league would be in the next few days with Petron, F2 Logistics and Foton slowly reaching their peak.

“She will be a big help to our campaign,” Branislav said. “It’s going to be an exciting battle in our next few games.”