Biradora of the Week - Myla Pablo

Photo by Rivals PH

Name: Myla Pablo
School: National University
Height: 5'9"
Position: Open Spiker

Bakit siya ang aking napiling ifeature?

I really have lots of reasons kung bakit I chose to post about her. Some of those are her simplicity, ability and regained consistency. Unlike Valdez, Myla is not very popular to simple individuals (I'm referring to non-biradoras) mainly because she doesn't have mainstream commercials and tv guestings but that doesn't mean that she's far from the likes of Rachel Ann Daquis, Mika Reyes and of course Alyssa Valdez. I assure to you that Myla Pablo's spikes are on par with Valdez' , it's just that the latter knows how to adjust to bad sets (or mga bukang set).

Myla's approach and jumping ability makes her spikes hard to defend. She is also trained to vary her attacks and known for her good spiking percentage. These awards are the proof of her offensive skills.

UAAP Season 75 Best Spiker
Shakey's V-League Season 10 First Conference's Best Attacker
Shakey's V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference's Finals MVP

Jumping ability makes Myla Pablo effective as an open spiker- Photos used courtesy of Philippine Superliga

On the other hand, Myla Pablo is not only popular because of her strong attacks due to the fact that she can also show her prowess when it comes to blocking. One example was during the Asian U-23 Volleyball League where she blocked the 6'0" open spiker of China twice(sorry I can't find videos but that's so amazing tapos nagsabi pa siya sa coach niya after na ansakit daw sa kamay).

By the way there are other videos you can watch to see how she scores through blocking. Here's one of them:

Myla Pablo's offensive block against 6'5" Jaja Santiago- Video courtesy of Philippine Superliga

Another one pero GIF lang siya. Si My yung may circle. Grabe! Galing pa siya ng spike niyan sa kwatro (kabilang side) tapos humabol nalang siya sa block.

Photos used courtesy of http://elvyol-vball.blogspot.com/ 

She's defintely athletic and very agile inside the court. Morevoer, she also bloomed into a decent floor defender when she's on the back row. In short, she's now an MVP caliber player.

I just hope that on her last season she will do her best to give her school it's second UAAP Volleyball Championship.

~fin~


Next time ulit mga Biradoras!!!!! :)
Feel free to comment kung sino yung gusto niyong mafeature sa Biradora of the Week.

UAAP Volleyball Clash: Falcons Soar Above Tigresses; Tamaraws Bow Down to Archers

Photos by Rivals PH

Results:

ADU def. UST in five thrilling sets: 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 28-30, 16-14

DLSU def. FEU in straight sets: 29-27, 25-23, 25-20


Views:

Adamson Lady Falcons

Good floor defense and Reliable attackers

At first, I thought that Adamson will never be a Final Four contender this season but after watching their first game I immediately changed my mind. They still got perfect receiving skills and the urge to save all the balls no matter what happens. Jema Galanza was really superb and smart during their game. Her performance was outstanding where she garnered 28 big points for her squad. I truly believe that she will be the next Shiela Pineda and if not maybe greater than her.

On the other hand, Mylene Paat showed that she got the guts and skills to be the captain of this team because she contributed consistently through spikes and blocks. I would also like to commend the performance of the sophomore May Roque due to the fact that she brought the "bangis" factor for her squad not to mention that she also contributed 13 points. Their libero Jellie Tempiatura was amazing as always; receiving and digging every balls that comes on her way. Erika Alkuino also contributed but she needs to focus more on reading the opponent's setter in order to block properly. Mary Joy Dacoron should also show some improvement by reducing her errors and contribute spikes and blocks efficiently.

Jema Galanza leading her squad - Photo by Richard Esguerra

UST Lady Tigresses

One-man team

Their performance was great but they relied too much on their sophomore Cherry Rondina. I know that she's the one who got this scorching energy and was able to penetrate Adamson's defense but the veterans should have their ways as well. Mela Tunay was sidelined after first set due to the fact that she only contributed a single point to her team. EJ Laure, their captain was also marked during the first two sets and unable to do much properly. Furthermore, Marivic Meneses was good in blocking but should also start to add spikes as her points too.

Overall, I think they just need more firepower and contribution for each members of the squad in order to win their next games.

Cherry Rondina scores against Adamson's two towers- Photo by Richard Esguerra

DLSU Lady Spikers

Getting back the groove

Indeed, the Lady Spikers are slowly coming back to their old playing form because almost all of them finally discovered their finishing instinct. Ara Galang who was unable to play the Finals-Series last season due to ACL Injury showed during their game that she's still a force to fear. She still serves well and defends the floor superbly. It's true that she's still adjusting when she's going to spike but I know that few games later she will surely be 100% back.

Carol Cerveza also showcased her hidden skills as she was the one who consistently scores for her squad through spiking while Mika Reyes topped the block contribution. I also noticed the improvement of their libero Dawn Macandili because she's faster and more agile during the game. Moreover, their new captain and setter Kim Fajardo let the audience view how attacking setters contribute to their team. She proved that she's not only trained  to provide plays for her spikers but also know how to contribute offensively. Their rookie, May Luna also contributed a lot and a very promising spiker.

If La Salle continue this kind of performance, I definitely believe that among all the teams they are the ones who have the greatest chance to beat Ateneo in the Finals.

Ara Galang prepares her lethal jump serve- Photo by Richard Esguerra

FEU Lady Tamaraws

Lack of maturity

Toni Rose Basas was the lone star during their first game while the rest just can't put up their own fight. She managed to score double-digit despite of tall blockers in front of her. Their captain Remy Joy Palma contributed point but is inconsistent. Bernadeth Pons was also stopped while Jerilli Malabanan could not kill the balls given to her. The return of Giselle Sy really made a lot of impact for she provided perfect sets but unfortunately if the spikers were not ready to kill the ball then perfect sets were useless.

FEU needs to gain their composure and unlock the things they need to achieve maturity and mental toughness as well to survive this season.

Is the comeback of ace setter Giselle Sy the key to FEU's return to Finals? - Photo by Richard Esguerra

NEXT GAMES

Photo courtesy of Volleyball PH

Photos courtesy of Volleyball PH

UAAP Volleyball Clash Starts: UP vs UE, NU vs ADMU

Photos by Rivals. Ph

Results:

UP def. UE in straight sets: 25-20, 25-13, 25-21

ADMU def. NU in straight sets: 25-21, 25-19, 25-14 


Views:

UP Lady Maroons

They did great.

Lahat sila mentally prepared and composed para sa game. Nag-improve sila both offense and defense gawa na rin ng pagsali nila sa pre-season tourney like Shakey's V-league where they finished 3rd. I would like to commend the performances of their rookies most especially Diana Carlos and Justine Dorog. I like how Carlos spike the ball, yung full-force and she doesn't worry about her blockers. She's also good in blocking. Si Justine Dorog naman ay magaling magvary ng spikes and super madepensa. Gusto ko rin yung back quicks and running attacks niya. Even though, she only stands 5'7" (maliit kumpara sa ibang players), she still able to consistently give points to her team. Hindi ako masyado impressed sa performance ni Isabel Molde but I know that on their next games, she's going to explode.

Sa mga veterans, it's good to see the returning Kathy Bersola. You can see na magaling na ang kanyang injury because she performed well. On the other hand, Marian Buitre showed powerful spikes and perfect-timed blocks.

To conclude, I think Nicole Tiamzon needs to show her prowess in order to win their next games wherein they are going to meet more formidable opponents like De La Salle and National University.

Rookie Diana Carlos prepares a wall against UE- Photo by Arvin Lim

UE Lady Warriors

They vastly improved.

All I can say is that super tumaas ang level ng skills nila most especially in receiving, digging and blocking. Pinatutunayan lamang nito na Coach Francis Vicente really disciplined and trained her girls well. I was impressed with the performance of Roselle Baliton. Why? Mas naging quick siya gumalaw sa court and she paraded her court sense during the game. She blocked well and now knew how to save the ball also. Napansin ko din na she developed the same spiking approach like Dindin Santiago which I think was taught by Coach Francis since naging coach din sya ni Dindin way back when she was on National University.

On the other hand, Shaya Adorador and Judith Abil were the firepowers of the squad. Parehas silang high-leapers and smart when it comes to spiking. They just need to be consistent to have a chance to win on their upcoming games.

UE's celebration after Judith Abil's point - Photo by Arvin Lim

Ateneo Lady Eagles

Consistent. Composed. Communication

These are the three words that summarize their performance during the first game. Consistent kasi Jia Morado set the ball to everyone during the entire game. She didn't stick to one player rather choose to give plays to her teammates who have the strength to deliver points. Of course, Alyssa Valdez regularly scored from every angle may it be spikes, serves and blocks (Given na eh).

In addition, two rookies showed their own talents by giving big points to their squad. Maddie Madayag and Bea De Leon blocked superbly and spike amazingly, too. Jhoanna Maraguniot's name was also at the scoring board as well.

On the other hand, they are composed kasi for the first two sets ay ahead ang NU sa kanila for more than 5 points. But they just focused and motivated themselves that they need to win these game not only because they are the defending champions but also for those people who supported them. They bravely battled the odds which are against them and reached their goal. They also communicate with each other and that definitely made the difference.

Ateneo's Maddie Madayag towers over NU's late blockers- Photo by Arvin Lim

NU Lady Bulldogs

Game Jitters and Lack of Connection

Most of us anticipated that they have a big chance to win against Ateneo because they beat them last Shakey's V-league's Championship but their force does not show up during their first game.

NU's Libero Bia General wasn't fully focused on what she was doing. Yes, there are times that she dug hard balls but there were also times where she could not save those easy balls. I think she was nervous or not feeling well. Myla Pablo was also marked and have difficulty penetrating the Ateneo's defense. Top scorer siya but it was not her regular game. Jaja Santiago was also underutilized. Masyadong mabababa ang sets ni Azie Soliven sa kanya that's why it's easy for De Leon or Madayag to block her. Aiko Urdas also failed to support Pablo and Santiago as she did not provide enough points for her squad. These are reasons na kahit malaki lamang nila noong first two sets, Ateneo still managed to steal the victory from them.

The only positive thing I have seen during their game was the consistency of Jorelle Singh. I was amazed with the fact that she only stands 5"7" and chubby pa siya but still able to deliver big points for her team. She angled her spikes well and strongly hit them.

A low set to very tall Jaja Santaigo makes her height and skills unmaximized- Photo by Arvin Lim

NEXT GAMES:

Photo courtesy of Volleyball PH

Photo courtesy of Volleyball PH