Bella Belen vows to show an improved version of herself when she finally makes her debut in the PVL Reinforced Conference starting Tuesday at Ynares Center Montalban.
‘I’d say I’m still the same Bella, but like, Bella 2.0. I’m more aggressive now because I know I’ll be up against more experienced, veteran players. I know I’ll learn a lot from them, but I also want to show what I can do,’ said Belen in Filipino. ‘I honestly love being challenged. No matter the league or the opponent, I just really try to prepare myself to perform, especially since it’s my first time playing in the PVL. There’s pressure as a rookie, but I try to take that pressure as a privilege. It just means I have the opportunity to prove what I can do for the team,’ she added. Belen emerged as a top player in the collegiate ranks, winning three UAAP MVPs and championships in the UAAP, and also steered Alas Pilipinas to a runner-up finish in the AVC Nations Cup and a pair of bronze medals in the SEA V-League.
But the 23-year-old Belen is raring to achieve more with the Solar Spikers, who reached the playoffs last year with Russian super scorer Marina Tushova. ‘I really want to do better than I did in the UAAP, even though I know PVL is on a different level. But I do have high expectations for myself,’ said Belen.’For the team, since we’re a young group, I really believe we can compete and even make it to the finals. We just have to take it one game at a time.’
Belen will be leading a young squad under her Alas coach Jorge Souza De Brito, who will also bank on Ukrainian Oleksandra Bytsenko, Roma Mae Doromal, Pia Abbu, Shola Alvarez, and Iris Tolenada.
‘It wasn’t too hard for me to adjust. It’s a new system and a new team. But so far, we’re really getting along well,’ she said. ‘I’m excited to see how our team performs this conference. If you look at us one by one, I believe we can keep up with other teams. We just need to work three times harder to reach our goals.’