Galeries ends skid, shuts down Akari in tense five-setter
For Galeries Tower to become successful, Erika Deloria believes they need to overcome tough times in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series.
“You have to be mentally tough,” she said. “Even when you don’t feel like training because you’ve been losing, you still have to show up. That’s what it takes—you really have to stay strong.”
The Highrisers did more than just show up for training. They showed up against the Akari Chargers on Tuesday, hammering out a 25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 15-25, 15-10 victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum to finally log a win this season.
“This is part of our individual growth. If you want to become a champion, you have to go through tough times,” Deloria said. “I believe that if you can overcome those challenges, you can win and get past whatever difficulties come your way.”
Deloria, drafted in the previous year from unheralded program Enderun Colleges, delivered 20 points, 28 excellent receptions and 11 digs to lead Galeries, which had to survive a late collapse after building a two-set advantage.
“This is a good start for [our turnaround]. We came into this game with a 0-4 record, which was a bit discouraging and could really bring down our morale,” said Deloria. “But at the same time, those losses taught us that we still had a lot to work on, especially in terms of communication.”
But the young outside spiker stressed that the Highrisers shouldn’t just stop at their breakthrough win and instead aim for a franchise milestone. Galeries Tower has yet to reach the semifinals since joining the league in 2023. The franchise has shown signs of heading toward that goal—the team notched major upsets in the Play-In in the past All-Filipino conferences.
“I think we were able to show that improvement in this game,” Deloria said. “I’m very thankful to our coaches and teammates who continue to show up and give their best every day despite the difficult start [to the conference].”
Jean Asis contributed 14 points, Alyssa Bertolano chipped in 12 points and 14 digs and Lams Lamina had 21 excellent sets for Galeries.
