On Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, PLDT defeated Akari in three straight sets to win its first match in more than a month.

It was a breath of fresh air for the High Speed Hitters, who had dropped their previous four matches after winning their first game against United Auctioneers Inc.-Army on October 8 of last year.

In addition, PLDT’s defeat to Petro Gazz, the final of their four-game losing streak, turned out to be a contentious one because of a disagreement between officials and head coach George Pascua over the latter’s late challenge in the fourth set. The four-set match ended up lasting nearly three hours.

The High Speed Hitters attempted to challenge the match’s outcome, but the league ultimately rejected the claim.

Mika Reyes claimed that the team as a whole made an effort to just take pleasure in the game against the Chargers despite the mounting losses. With Akari being dominated by PLDT, 25 to 11, 25 to 21, and 25 to 19, they were able to renew their bid for the semifinals. The change in strategy was undoubtedly beneficial.

“Mas importante talaga na nag-eenjoy talaga kami kasi mas madali mag-laro kapag nag-eenjoy lahat [it’s important to us that we enjoy the game because it’s easier to play when you enjoy it], kahit nagkakamali basta nireremind lang kami ni coach na basta may bawi. Okay lang magkamali basta may bawi [even we made a mistake and our coach reminded us that we got it, it’s fine, as long as we got it],” said the PVL

Best middle blocker of the invitational

“Katulad nung sinabi ko kanina, mas nag-eenjoy ngayon talaga [as I mentioned earlier, you need to enjoy things]. Hindi natatakot magkamali kasi siguro the past few games natatakot magkamali e [ we are not afraid to made mistakes, because before we are], the more na mas tight yung galaw… I think enough naman na siguro yun para matuto kami. [the more that our movements are tight… I think that’s enough for us to learn]”

The High Speed Hitters improved to the seventh slot with a record of 2 to 4 thanks to Reyes’ 15 points on 10 attacks, three aces, and two kill blocks.

The seasoned blocker stated that going forward, the group will approach its remaining matches against Cignal and Chery Tiggo one at a time with their chances of making the semifinals still alive.

The 28-year-old La Salle product said, “One game at a time muna and of course kailangan naming maghanda sa next game since maganda rin yung pinakita ng Cignal kanina so we really have to prepare. [one game at a time and of course we need to make sure that we are ready next game, since what Cignal did earlier was amazing, we really need to prepare]”

Who is Mika Reyes?

Reyes won the Best Attacker and Most Valuable Player awards at the 2013 and 2015 PVF Intercollegiate Volleyball Championships, respectively. Reyes earned the Best Blocker prize at the 2014 Philippine National Games and placed first for Best Middle Blocker at the 2015 competition. She was a member of the UAAP champion DLSU Lady Spikers teams in seasons 74, 75, and 78. 

She was selected as the Philippine Super Liga’s 2016 brand ambassador while playing for F2 Logistics. To represent the Philippines in the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, Reyes was chosen on July 28 as the seventh and last volleyball player to join the team.

Reyes and the Petron Blaze Spikers agreed to a two-year contract on January 11, 2017. 

She competed for the PSL selections at the 2017 H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Cup in Thailand, the 2017 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Kazakhstan, and the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, where they won the bronze medal. 

In May 2017, Reyes was named team captain of the Philippine women’s national volleyball team.

Reyes won silver in the 2017 PSL Invitational Cup, gold in the 2017 PSL All-Filipino Conference with the second-best middle blocker award, and silver in the 2017 PSL Grand Prix Conference with the first-best middle blocker award while playing with Petron Blaze Spikers.