Dell Palomata from PLDT
Photo: PVL
PLDT coach Rald Ricafort takes lessons from the PVL’s best teams and uses them to show his players what it takes to become champions.
“As I focus on scouting, I show my players how (the best teams and players) play and how (we) perform compared to the standards of the league,” Ricafort told the Inquirer in Filipino after PLDT’s third win in a row had a quick 25-17, 25-20, 25-17 shutout of Capital1 on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena.
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“(I show my players) how people like Brooke (van Sickle from Petro Gazz), (Creamlines) Alyssa (Valdez and (Bernadeth) Pons play because (they) are the ones (whose level) we want to reach…” We ( “We can therefore also have the skills of the top teams,” Ricafort added.
PLDT’s first two wins worried Ricafort, who noticed his team relaxing after taking a 2-0 lead. In their opening game against Nxled, the High Speed Hitters had to go through a fourth set before securing victory. Against Galeries Tower, PLDT faltered again in the third set but was able to regroup in time to claim a win.
If the win against the Solar Spikers was any indication, the High Speed Hitters might have finally learned their lesson.
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“Since our first game, I have told them that (once we have control of our game) we should avoid (relaxing at the end) because the flow of the game affects us too,” he said. “If we show a little complacency, (opponents will take advantage) because everyone is getting better and (no one is getting out) easier than before.”
Savi challenging
“That was the mindset going into this game: sticking with even the little details that, if we can implement them, make things easier,” he added.
“This happened today.”
And to reinforce this lesson even further, Ricafort will continue to stitch together videos from Creamline, the winningest team in PVL history and first Grand Slam winners, and Petro Gazz, who has shown promise since Van Sickle’s arrival to show his players what it takes to win a title.
“So if we still don’t have (the skills that the top teams have) based on their game videos, we continue to push for it,” Ricafort said, adding that he gave examples that the top teams also give to their players Goal.
“We don’t have to guess (where we are) about our progress (because we can compare ourselves with the teams) we are following.”
“If they can do it (our goal of closing the gap), then we have a well-rounded skill set and can play at a higher level,” he said.
The challenge falls primarily to Savi Davison, the PLDT star hitter who is returning from knee surgery. The Filipino-Canadian player is slowly returning to her usual deadly form, scoring a game-high 17 points against Capital1.
‘cultivation’
“I’m just coming back and getting involved in practice again, so I don’t think there’s much change (for us). “Obviously we’re working hard, our preparation has been really good and we just know how to adapt to certain teams and I think we’re working harder every day than we did last day,” Davison said in the post-match press conference.
“I think we’re just growing as a team overall. It’s really fun to see how much we can do, so I’m just excited – give us more time and we’ll see how it goes,” she added.
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Erika Santos and Fiola Ceballos, two players Ricafort hopes will also respond to his challenge, finished with 11 points each, with Ceballos also active in defense with 16 excellent attacks. INQ