Asked to pick between Belen and Solomon, Valdez would rather have both
Alyssa Valdez was enjoying a round of golf at Manila Southwoods on Saturday afternoon when—in a break between hitting long drives and the occasional course staff and players asking for autographs and selfies—a question was asked that got her thinking.
“Wow, that’s a hard one,” the 31-year-old volleyball superstar first answered the Inquirer, who asked who she would pick between Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon should she be tasked to form a team for the PVL, which will have its second Draft on June 8.
It was easy to make Belen and Solomon the subjects of the question, being the brightest stars for National U in the Lady Bulldogs’ successful defense of the UAAP women’s volleyball crown, hence the names everyone is waiting for to declare for the annual proceedings.
“Off-hand, I would say Solomon because she is really so strong,” Valdez said, before taking it back when she weighed the overall value to a team of the three-time MVP Belen.
“Bella is such a leader and she plays both ends very, very well,” Valdez explained. “But it’s really very hard to answer because they are both great players.”
The institutionalized Draft, if Belen and Solomon do declare, will be very deep with the teams that finished in the bottom four of the standings last season having the best chances of tabbing either talent.
A deadline has been set for Friday with the likes of Nica Celis of University of the Philippines, Pia Abbu of University of Santo Tomas, so far the biggest names to declare.
Camila Lamina is another Lady Bulldog who can make an impact for any team in the PVL, and the talented setter is taking her time to decide on whether to throw her hat in the ring or not.
Valdez, during the course of the round, talked at length about life, including the zero interest she has in coaching.
“It has never crossed my mind in all my years in the sport,” she said. “That’s why that’s a tough question for me to answer.”
Overseas is an option
She also acknowledged the opportunities Filipino players now have playing overseas, where the pay is bigger and the chance to compete against bigger and sometimes better players is there.
But when pressed, Valdez leaned towards Belen—if the situation calls for her building a team from scratch.
“It’s because of her all-around talent and the way she holds her team together,” she said. “And we share a lot of things in common, in case you don’t know.
“We have the same birthday (June 29), we also won three (UAAP) MVPs each—although she won more titles (3-2) compared to when I was with Ateneo,” she said with a laugh.
But then again, she said that it would also truly be hard to pass up on Solomon. And after scratching her head a little in between forkfuls of rice noodles and sauteed bean curd, she asked: “Don’t you have a scenario where I can pick them both?”
