YOUNG AND RESTLESS
Farm Fresh coach Alessandro Lodi was somewhere explaining the decision to transform spiker Alyssa Bertolano into a libero when he gave a shoutout to the people who make up his staff.
“They don’t have watches anymore; they don’t know what time it is anymore—they are in a symbiotic relationship with their laptops [so] they don’t have girlfriends anymore,” Lodi said.
“They work day and night on video, on stats, on collecting data, on preparing videos for the players, ‘cause we prepare. We might lose, but no one can outprepare us.
“Coaches sometimes, they are stupid,” Lodi added. “But sometimes, they kinda know and they collect data and information. Everything we do is based on information, on real data, not on opinions.”
And that is what is probably fueling the change that’s slowly creeping into the PVL.
A look at the Reinforced Conference standings will clue fans to the fact that this is no longer their older siblings’ PVL. Zeus Coffee leads the league with six wins in six games. Farm Fresh has lost just once in five games. And Capital1 has three wins against two losses.
Farm Fresh is the oldest of those teams, joining the league in 2023. Zues and Capital1 made their debuts last year.
And now, those three teams are in the top 5 of the standings with just five playdates left in the preliminary round of the import-laced conference, with the Thunderbelles already in the quarterfinals.
“Obviously, as a team, we want to win this thing. And we’re going to try our best to get there,” Thunderbelles import Anna DeBeer said. “I think that’s why it’s super exciting to be in an environment with such a great team, with great staff, and be around good people where it’s fun to work hard every single day.
“So, I’m really just excited about getting better and seeing how far we can go,” she added.
Lodi and the Foxies will try to follow DeBeer and her teammates in the playoffs as they take on the Petro Gazz Angels on Tuesday at 4 p.m., looking to keep the momentum of the young clubs. The Solar Spikers, meanwhile, look to prove they are no longer an opponent to be overlooked when they battle Chery Tiggo in the later game of the doubleheader slated at Filoil EcoOil Arena.
The Angels (3-2) and the Crossovers (1-4) are both old guards of the league and both will be motivated to climb the standings to make one final shot at a playoff stint.
And the problem with having old guards chasing young teams is that it will be doubly harder to fend them off.
“The opponents have the ability to play better, and you cannot play the perfect game all the time,” Lodi said. “So you have to add the second ability, which is to play gritty.”
Capital1 coach Jorge de Brito agrees.
“There’s a chance for the guys who stay on the bottom to step up. So, I think that you need to keep on pushing,” he said.
The Angels will certainly pose a greater threat as the two-time Reinforced Conference champion may be at No. 7, but they are tied with the Foxies in terms of wins and losses.
The Solar Spikers, meanwhile, will face a Crossovers crew currently struggling to find its footing.
