Myla Pablo has long established herself as one of the best outside spikers in the country, winning several championships and a pair of PVL MVP trophies.
But with 2022 Best Import and Finals MVP Lindsey Vander Weide back this year and sharing the outside hitter position with Brooke Van Sickle, Pablo has embraced a new role as Petro Gazz’s starting opposite spiker. The 32-year-old star has been thriving so far after scoring 12 points in Petro Gazz’s 29-27, 25-22, 19-25, 17-25, 15-11 escape against the erstwhile-unbeaten Akari in the PVL Reinforced Conference on Thursday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
‘It was actually my first time playing opposite with an extended playing time, and I just accepted the role Coach Gary gave me,’ Pablo told the Inquirer in Filipino.
‘My main goal for the team is really to focus on blocking and helping out on the court. Even if I don’t get to score much, I know my teammates can step up. So I just try to contribute through my blocks and defense.’
Pablo also cherishes reuniting with Vander Weide and Van Sickle, with whom she won two separate championships-the 2022 Reinforced and the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conferences, respectively.
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‘Kudos to my two teammates. They’ve been working so hard during training and in games. That’s why we all try to support them and give our best contributions on the court to help the team win,’ she said.
She credited new coach Gary Van Sickle for helping her adjust to her new position and guiding the team through its early-season transition.
‘With Coach Gary, the adjustment wasn’t hard at all because he’s very chill. Whenever he sees something that could help me improve, he talks to me about it during training or in games,’ said Pablo.
After back-to-back wins to improve to a 2-1 record, Pablo hopes Petro Gazz continues to get its groove, gunning for a third straight win against ZUS Coffee on Tuesday.
‘Right now, things are going pretty well. Lindsey’s really starting to find her rhythm. In our first two games, she was still adjusting, but now she’s back to playing her game. After our loss to Creamline, we all talked about what adjustments we needed to make, and it turned out well,’ she said.