Two icons of Philippine volleyball were at the Ynares Center on Saturday during the fourth game day of the PVL All-Filipino Conference. However, only one of them played while the other had to be a spectator—for now.
Alyssa Valdez Makes Triumphant Return to Action
Crowd favorite Alyssa Valdez finally made her long-awaited return to action for the Creamline Cool Smashers, subbing in for the defending champs in their 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 conquest of the Petro Gazz Angels on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
The 31-year-old was naturally ecstatic—and relieved at the same time.
“It’s just so nice to be able to feel that I am able to jump again, to spike again, to help again,” Valdez told reporters after the game. “So, if you’re going to ask me how far… I think right now I just wanna celebrate what I have right now, in the present.”
After watching Creamline clinch a Grand Slam, Valdez made sure to make her presence felt in her first game in a while, keying a backbreaking 14-3 run in the third set to dash the Angels’ comeback hopes.
Now that she is finally back, the former Ateneo Lady Eagle vowed to work even harder so she can stay on the court for the Cool Smashers.
“’Yung regimen ko from before until now, hindi talaga siya magbabago,” Valdez said. “I’ll take my training more seriously and my therapy seriously, religiously din talaga kasi it’s been working.”
Valdez and her Cool Smashers will face another acid test on Saturday when they take on the 2-0 Akari Chargers at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
Rachel Anne Daquis Still on the Mend, but Return in the Works
Fans at the Ynares Center also got a glimpse of another volleyball queen Rachel Anne Daquis. Unfortunately, she was in street clothes as she rooted for her new team, the Farm Fresh Foxies.
Even so, Daquis vowed that a return to action is in the works, although she does not have an exact date yet in mind. That much-awaited comeback, she says, will happen once she gets back into tiptop shape.
“Actually, maghihintay lang din tayo kung pwede ako makakalaro. Wala pang certain time pero step-by-step gagawin, kasi ayoko din naman na pagbalik ko ma-injure. So, dapat talagang 100% na kaya talaga,” Daquis told reporters. “Kakasabay ko pa lang sa Farm Fresh last month eh, so kailangan makabalik ako sa kapa ng bola. Kahit nakakapag-workout ako, siyempre nag-stop ako sa paglalaro mismo, so ‘yun ‘yung wino-work out ko”
Daquis last saw action in the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference for the Cignal HD Spikers before missing the entire 2024 season due to personal reasons. In her absence, RAD went to culinary school, put up the bakery Forn De Manila in Spain, and prepared for life after volleyball.
But RAD would find out soon enough that the lure of the taraflex remains strong—and now she is hard at work into what promises to be a big return for Farm Fresh.
