Akari Sports held a conversation with Faith Nisperos about her first conference in the PVL.
Rookie Faith Nisperos impressed in her maiden conference in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) last month, landing at 8th in scoring (56 points) and 11th in spiking (32.28%)..
Nisperos had a rough start to her pro volleyball career. In her debut against PLDT, Nisperos had a dismal performance on offense with only five points.
From that point, the 5’10 outside hitter realized that she still has a long way to go in terms of gelling with her teammates and catching up to the level the giants of the PVL are in.
“The game is the same but the level is very different. I’m very grateful na I get to face veteran players tapos really hyped up na I get to play against my idols as well,” Nisperos said, “But it was a humbling experience for me and it made me realize na I still have a lot to learn and of course I’m looking forward to having more time with my teammates so I could have stronger chemistry with them,” she added.
Just like the best of ’em, the former Lady Eagle afterwards recovered from a subpar first game output and went on a double-digit scoring spree in her last four matches, including a back-to-back 18-point explosion against erstwhile defending champs Creamline and cellar-dwelling Gerflor.
Nisperos believed that they could go toe-to-toe with the top teams and eventually overcome them moving forward.
“The highlight for me in my first conference was when we played very good against Creamline, meaning we did our best against the best team. For me, it just showed that we can do something and level against great teams and that in itself, I’m very excited to see where we will go with this amount of time for preparation that we have,” the UAAP Season 84 Second Best enthused.
Despite not achieving their desired outcome, Nisperos credited Head Coach Jorge Souza de Brito for all the learning she gained from the recently-concluded conference and emphasized that the efforts put forth during both practice and games serve as foundational steps toward reaching the team’s ultimate objective.
“He opened up so many perspectives on how to play the game. We did not get the result that we want, but the things that we do [in practice and in games] are building blocks into achieving our team goal,” she said.
Now heading to the All-Filipino Conference this October, Nisperos and the rest of the Chargers aim to at least reach the semifinals for the first time. However, it will not be possible if they don’t start with the little things in training.
“As a team, we want to reach the final four and we want to put all our efforts into that small goal muna in training. We have to have our own small goals. Anong gusto naming i-achieve? Anong skill yung kailangan naming i-improve?” the former National Team member mentioned.
Above all, Nisperos again stressed about the Chargers’ connection. If one takes a look at Akari’s lineup, he will see a talent-loaded roster, but nothing will work if those pieces don’t fit.
“As individual players, we are very skilled on our own forte, but the most important thing is our chemistry — how do we put in the pieces together to make this big puzzle?”
When asked about her personal goal, the Akari ace spiker shared that she intends to focus on her overall defense to become a complete player.
“Personally, I want to improve as a whole player. I know I can do great things when it comes to attacking but I want to improve on my floor defense, receive, and even the blocking as well,” the former Ateneo standout replied.
To end the interview, Nisperos expressed gratitude to Chargers fans for staying by the team’s side.
“I want to say thank you that you believe in us, and I hope na hindi kayo magsasawa to support us and going into the next conference, I hope to see you there.”
