Tia Andaya flourished in her first start for Choco Mucho as she continues to adapt to the style of play in the PVL Reinforced Conference.
The rookie setter finished with 15 excellent sets and eight points, including three blocks to help Choco Mucho sweep Nxled, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22 on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
‘Obviously, when you have a new setter, it kind of mixes things up a little bit because it’s a different flow so I think we worked really well to kind of find that flow,’ said Andaya, who also played a crucial role in the Flying Titans’ first victory at the expense of Cignal last Oct. 13.
‘You can tell in the first set we were still trying to find it, but once we got it all in, I think we came together well and I’m excited to see how it continues to progress.’
The 24-year-old playmaker admitted she’s still in the adjustment period, but added she’s grateful to her teammates for making her transition easier.
‘Every game is gonna be a new challenge, every game has different obstacles and just facing adversity but I think, having solid teammates who are doing their job consistently, it makes my job so easy,’ Andaya said.
‘I think you’re always gonna have to sharpen that connection with someone at some point in time, and I do think it’s gotten better, it’s getting better for sure. As you can see, we have a lot of moving pieces, so we’re all working to get these connections. Everybody’s a little bit different, but I can see we’re moving in a positive direction, so I’m happy about it,’ she added.
Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin is thrilled to have the Filipino-American talent as the team’s other setter and one who also complements main playmaker Deanna Wong.
‘I think that’s the main difference between Deanna and Tia in our situation. Tia still needs more game time to build a better connection with the players. Deanna, on the other hand, is always ready; whenever we need her, she knows how to perform without needing too much adjustment. But for this game, we really needed Tia more, which is why she was the one on the court,’ he said in Filipino.
After leading her team to its second win in three games, Andaya seeks to build on her breakout game to keep contributing to Choco Mucho in their upcoming matches.
‘We got the win. That’s a confidence booster for everybody, but just seeing how we continue to get better throughout the match, that’s a really positive thing for us,’ she said.