Okaro says she always saw Akari in a serious light–long before three-game run

Oly Okaro (right) says the effort her teammates give in practice and in games is no laughing matter. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Not many would’ve thought that Akari will be one of the teams to experience early success in the PVL Reinforced Conference—the Chargers don’t have the most impressive resume after all.

Even the Chargers’ American import Oly Okaro admitted keeping her expectations in check when she first met her new local club.

“I noticed the team could be a little bit silly and goofy. Not gonna lie, when I first came I was thinking, ‘woah, are you guys serious about volleyball? Is this social hour, what is this?” Okaro said laughing, after lifting Akari past Petro Gazz with another hard-fought come-from-behind 23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 29-27, 16-14, victory Saturday at PhilSports Arena.

“But as I stayed with the team longer and longer, I learned that just because they have that light-hearted goofiness, it doesn’t take away at all from their work ethic,” she added.

In Akari’s six-conference stay in the league, the Chargers have only a seventh-place finish to brag about as its best showing. But now, the franchise, which had a lot of changes in the last two off seasons, are looking poised for a much-anticipated success.

The Chargers are currently tied with Cignal, which dragged Capital1 back to earth with a 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 25-13 triumph in the earlier match, with a 3-0 standing in Pool B.

Akari also has wins over Capital1 and slumping Choco Mucho in earlier games.

“They work extremely hard and I am still surprised every single day when I see the effort and work that my teammates put into volleyball and it’s not a joke for them, it’s very serious,” Okaro said after dropping 31 points. “That’s just maybe the way they come off but they put in a lot of work and effort.”

Along with the player transfers, Taka Minowa, who previously called the shots for Akari’s sister team Nxled, has also moved to now lead the Chargers.

“[What changed in Akari is] its culture and what the team and coach Taka has [imparted] to the entire team,” returning libero Dani Ravena said. “More than the skills, I feel like one of the biggest things to look for is the attitude, maturity [of a player] inside the court and outside, being the best possible player that you can be even if you’re not the oldest one or you’re the youngest, you can still be in your own way and I think we’re now on the same page.”