Myla Pablo shocked to win PVL MVP plum

MANILA, Philippines – After crashing out of the semifinals, Pocari-Air Force’s Myla Pablo wasn’t expecting to receive the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference MVP award on Wednesday, July 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

“Nagulat ako sa sarili ko na ako ang tinawag na MVP, kasi ang akala ko talaga, si Alyssa (Valdez) talaga,” said Pablo. 

(I got shocked that they called me as the MVP because I really thought that it would be Alyssa Valdez.) 

Due to a lower back injury during the warmups, Pablo missed the do-or-die semifinal game against the Valdez-led Creamline Cool Smashers, who took down Pocari in straight sets. 

However, the former National University Lady Bulldogs star believes that her performance throughout the tournament helped Pocari reach the semifinals, meriting her the MVP plum. 

“Kahit paano, natulungan ko rin ‘yung mga teammates ko na makapasok sa semis, kahit bigo nga kami for the Finals,” added Pablo.

(I was able to help my teammates in whatever way to get into the semis even though we failed to reach the Finals.) 

As their star recovers from injury, the Lady Warriors will be looking to Pablo for leadership again in the PVL All-Filipino conference, where they hope to win the championship that eluded them in this conference. 

In the battle for 3rd, Pocari repeled Banko-Perlas in the first game, but the Lady Warriors fell to their opponents in Game 2, setting up another do-or-die match.

Cignal star Marck Espejo emerged as the MVP in the men’s division.

Pablo also won the Second Best Outside Spiker award. Other winners include Pablo’s teammate  Jeanette Panaga (First Best Middle Blocker), Creamline’s Valdez (First Best Outside Spiker), Michele Gumabao (Best Opposite Spiker) and Ji Morado (Best setter), BanKo Perlas’ Joy Dacoron (Second Best Middle Blocker), and PayMaya’s  Lizlee Ann Gata-Pantone (Best Libero).

BanKo Perlas import Kia Bright also earned recognition for scoring 41 points in a single match, the highest score recorted in the conference, while PayMaya’s Tess Rountree also bagged the Best Foreign Player award. – Rappler.com