When Farm Fresh coach Alessandro Lodi was looking for the best possible receiver on the team, stats from training, numerous six-on-six scrimmages-and even Alyssa Bertolano herself-pointed to her becoming the team’s newest libero in the PVL Reinforced Conference.
‘She told me herself, ‘Hey, I would be willing or available to play libero,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, you know what? That’s a good idea.’ I don’t really make those decisions, the decision is who is the best receiver? You’re the libero. Who are the best attackers? You play,’ said Lodi after Farm Fresh finished Pool A with a 25-18, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24 win over Choco Mucho on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. ‘The best people in their position are founded on data, real information, not because I like her, or she’s nice to me, or she gave me money. It’s not that. Coaches sometimes, they are stupid. But sometimes, they kinda know and they collect data and information. So the chance of having her [as libero] was very easy, it’s not even a choice, the data told us. It was easy to do that.’
Bertolano had an efficient game with 10 excellent receptions out of 19 attempts to help the Foxies bounce back from their first loss to PLDT and finished the first round, winning four of their five games.
The former University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, who played as a spiker for most of her career, admitted it was a scary move at first.
‘It’s definitely nerve-wracking at first,’ Bertolano said. ‘But once you’re on the court, you don’t really think about the nerves anymore. You’re already there, and I just focus on performing well for myself and for the team.’ With Lodi’s trust and the mentorship of veteran Jheck Dionela, Bertolano quickly settled into her new role.
‘Becoming a libero has been such a big opportunity for me. I’m really thankful to coach for trusting me on the court, and also grateful to my teammates for being patient with me. Credit also to Ate Jheck for teaching me the basics of being a libero,’ she said.
After an impressive first round, Bertolano vows to keep on improving and staying consistent for the Foxies.
‘It all comes down to discipline and focus, both in training and during games,’ she said.