Capital1’s Marina Tushova celebrates with her teammates in the PVL Reinforced Conference.-PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Weeks before the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference, Capital1 coach Roger Gorayeb received two import recommendations and upon watching the scouting clips, he trusted his instinct and gut feeling to bet on the young Russian spiker Marina Tushova.
And the rest is history as Gorayeb proved to have made the right choice in Tushova, who has been shattering the PVL record books with another league-best 49 points and leading the Solar Spikers to their best PVL campaign so far.
“I talked to a certain person and asked him to recommend two players only, he sent me two videos, and then, the first I had reservations and second thoughts. And when he sent me Marina’s video, I’ll take this player,” shared Gorayeb on Saturday.
READ: PVL: Marina Tushova shrugs off pain en route to 49-point record
Gorayeb on discovering Tushova before the Reinforced Conference. #PVL2024 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/gRiEUhjGuD
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) August 10, 2024
In her latest performance, Tushova shrugged off a right hand injury to eclipse her previous record of 45 points with 46 kills, two aces, and a block to lead Capital1’s 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-6 win over Nxled at Philsports Arena.
The veteran coach admitted that some people doubted his decision in choosing the 25-year-old player, who played in her home country Russia, France, and Switzerland.
“At first, some people said, not her, choose another. But I have to stick to my gut feeling and instincts as a volleyball coach. I’ll stick to her no matter what, if I lose, I will resign. And Marina has proven to a lot [of people] that I made the right choice,” Gorayeb said, stressing that Tushova’s stellar showing will open more opportunities for her overseas.
The 6-foot Russian has been raring to play in the PVL since hearing the stories from her Ukrainian friend and former PVL import Olena Lymareva-Flink, who reinforced Petro Gazz in 2018 and the Philippine Army the following year.
“It was my goal to play here. I got an invitation a few years ago but we didn’t meet on the agreement between the team, I don’t remember the name of the team to be honest. I was really looking for a team here, so they [Capital1] found me,” said Tushova.
READ: PVL: Marina Tushova drops 49 to fuel Capital1 past Nxled
Tushova on wanting to play in the PVL. #PVL2024 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/FCck23uLPe
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) August 10, 2024
“My friend played here. I wanted to see the Asian competition and then I met her, she told me about the Philippines. She told me these are the best fans ever here in the Philippines. She told me a lot of good things. So that’s it, I want to play here. It’s a great experience. I love to see people, I want to meet new people. This [experience] you can’t learn [it] every day. It’s so good. “
Gorayeb was thrilled that the stars aligned for Tushova and the Solar Spikers as the reinforcement has been spelling the difference for the franchise with a total of 198 points in just six games — scoring 126 in the past three matches.
“As I’ve said before I would rather see Marina on our side than play against her. We will have a hard time with her. Being a very new team, playing this way, she’s been sharing a lot with our locals. They see her as a high-intensity player, her worst day is 20 points,” said Gorayeb.
“She has a high tolerance for pain. She’s always there to play no matter what. That’s how professional players should be. And she’s very professional. She knows that the team needs her.”
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READ: Tushova-led Capital1 just getting started, says Gorayeb
With Tushova’s magic working wonders for Capital1, which turned out to be a surprise contender following a one-win debut in the All-Filipino Conference, she hopes for the team’s continuous improvement in their remaining games in the second round, needing to win at least one to book a spot to the quarterfinals.
“I need all of my teammates to be in. I want all of them to feel that they can score the point. Now, I want to be behind them to help them feel that someone is here, but please, try to do it by yourself first. Next games, I hope more girls will feel better, feel like this fire inside, and will improve because, after these few games, we’re going to have much harder games,” said the Capital1 star. “I cannot play on my own, I want them to be sure that I’m here so now I want them to try it in the next few games.”
Carrying a franchise’s best three-game winning streak for a 4-2 record, Tushova and the Solar Spikers are a win away from their first-ever appearance in the PVL playoffs, gunning to seal their entry against the Farm Fresh Foxies on Thursday.