By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alyssa Valdez couldn’t hide her excitement after being reunited with former Ateneo teammate Bea De Leon as the Creamline Cool Smashers aim for more glory in the Premier Volleyball League.
The Cool Smashers acquired De Leon and Denden Lazaro-Revilla from sister team Choco Mucho Flying Titans in their bid to solidify an already loaded lineup for their title-retention campaign in the All-Filipino Conference scheduled to start on Feb. 20.
“Actually, I was excited when they announced that we have Bea and Denden for the team,” Valdez said.
“There are a lot of memories during our Ateneo days and it’s just nice to do that again in the professional league,” she added.
It can be recalled that Valdez and De Leon played together for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in UAAP Season 77 ten years ago that saw the Katipunan-based spikers complete a mighty 16-0 sweep of the title.
A few years later, the two found each other on opposite sides of the court, with Valdez playing for Creamline and De Leon suiting up for Choco Mucho.
Now back together, Valdez is looking forward to seeing De Leon’s energetic spirit.
“One thing I miss about Bea is her energy. We know that Creamline is ‘happy-happy’, so it’s a good balance that Bea would react and celebrate every point. We’re really looking forward to playing with her,” Valdez said.
Digging deeper to the team dynamics, Valdez said they have been working hard to look for more strategies as the Cool Smashers target an unprecedented eighth crown.
“It’s always harder to defend the crown,” said Valdez. “It’s hard to be consistent. Hopefully we reach our goals this year.”
