Eya asks Flying Titans fans to temper expectations
Eya Laure could very well be the missing piece for Choco Mucho to finally get over the hump.
But the returning superstar isn’t focused on the high expectations, putting a premium on building strong team chemistry and giving her all every game when the 2026 PVL season opens with the All-Filipino Conference starting on Jan. 31.
“The support really warms my heart, but I try not to focus on expectations,” Laure told the Inquirer in her first interview since being announced as the new Flying Titan on Jan. 1. “Volleyball is a team sport, so my goal is to work hard every day, trust the process and do my role to help the team.”
After two consecutive runner-up finishes in the 2023 and 2024 All-Filipino Conference, Choco Mucho missed the playoffs in the last Reinforced Conference and PVL on Tour and finished fourth in last year’s All-Filipino in May, before Sisi Rondina focused on beach volleyball and eventually delivered the first-ever Southeast Asian Games gold medal for the sport.
With Laure choosing Choco Mucho as her next destination after a lengthy hiatus when she parted ways with Chery Tiggo, her reunion with Rondina sparks high hopes for the Flying Titans’ campaign.
The Alas Pilipinas spiker is aware of the pressure, but she chooses to focus on her progress with the team and making up for lost time after missing the PVL action for more than a year.
In joining a fan-favorite team, Laure urges supporters to stay patient with their progress as she and her fellow new Flying Titans, Caitlin Viray, Alina Bicar and Jaila Atienza, work on their connection with the team and coach Dante Alinsunurin’s system.
All-heart all the time
But expect the same 26-year-old outside spiker to be the same player who pours her heart out every game, just like what she did when she was with University of Santo Tomas, Chery Tiggo and Alas Pilipinas.
“I just hope our supporters will be patient with us, because we’ll definitely fight with all our hearts in every game for everyone who believes in the Choco Mucho Flying Titans,” she went on. “I’m happy to be part of the Rebisco family and I’m looking forward to contributing in any way I can.”
Laure is excited to continue her pro career and reunite with Rondina, Bicar and Viray, picking up from where they left off in 2019 when UST reached the UAAP Season 81 Finals, only to fall to Ateneo.
Incidentally, the core of that Blue Eagles team of Maddie Madayag, Kat Tolentino and Deanna Wong, are now Laure’s Choco Mucho teammates.
“I’m super excited and thankful. It really helps to have familiar faces (there),” Laure said. “I’ve been through so much with (the seniors in the team) and I’m happy that we’re together again, this time in the pros.
“I’m also excited to build chemistry with the whole team and learn from everyone.”
