MANILA, Philippines — Creamline Cool Smashers star Alyssa Valdez says it is still up in the air on whether or not she will be able to see action for her team in the upcoming All-Filipino conference of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) as she continues to recover from injury.
Going down with a knee injury in the battle for third series against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers last year in the PVL Reinforced Conference, Valdez revealed that there is no timeline yet on when she can fully return to action.
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Despite this, Valdez said that she's recovering well.
"[I'm] doing great. As of now, I've been doing a lot of exercises na. Hopefully, soon I can join practices as well." said Valdez during the pre-tournament press conference of the PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday.
The former Ateneo standout remains hopeful that she can at least be on the court before the tournament wraps up by the end of March for the defending champions.
"Honestly, sabi naman naman ng doctors and PT, I've been recovering well. Siyempre, the timetable, 'di siya sure. They want me to get back 100 percent na hindi nagmamadali." she said.
"Hopefully, guys talaga, praying that I'll see you guys on court this All-Filipino." she added.
While she remains on the sidelines, the national team mainstay is learning to see the sport on a different level — which serves as a silver lining as she's forced to watch her teammates compete without her.
"Honestly, I've been enjoying it seeing volleyball from a different perspective. I get to appreciate more. That's one thing that motivates me also to keep going and get back right away." said Valdez.
"So it's been very hard because the team is competitive and also are the coaches." she continued.
As for whether she thinks that the expectations will be lower for the Creamline Cool Smashers as she's subdued, Valdez believes quite the opposite.
"I doubt. I think that the expectations will be higher." Valdez said, while also expressing her belief in her teammates.
"With this kind of pressure, I believe naman ever since also when I had dengue, every one stepped up. Not really scared also or very much confident to this team na talagang magbibigay ng magandang laban this conference." she added.
The Cool Smashers will lean on the likes of PVL MVP Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao, among others in the absence of Valdez at least in the early stages of the conference kicking off on February 4.
Creamline first faces the Petro Gazz Angels in a rematch of the Reinforced Conference finals in the main game of the opener next Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.