PVL Draft aspirant Pierre Abellana during the Draft Combine. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Determined to come out of her shell, Pierre Abellana seeks to unleash her untapped potential in the professional scene as she chases a roster spot in the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft on July 8 at Novotel.
Abellana, who seldom saw action for the University of Santo Tomas in her playing years in the UAAP, turned heads in the two-day combine as she showed her athleticism in front of coaches and scouts from the 12 PVL teams.
“I’m super motivated right now because at this point, I have control over how I can showcase my abilities,” said the 5-foot-5 outside spiker, who was part of UST’s cinderella run in Season 86 but got swept by National University in the finals.
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Pierre Abellana after turning heads #PVLDraft2024 combine. | @LanceAgcaoilINQ pic.twitter.com/qisLYrztCi
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) June 26, 2024
“I always say that I will give my all, especially in putting effort into improving myself, and I’ll always do my best to help the team in any way I can,” she added.
Abellana impressed coaches and even her fellow 46 aspirants through her speed and high leaping abilities on Day 1. However, she believed that she could have shown more on Day 2 during the scrimmages.
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“For Day 2, I can’t say I’m satisfied, but I know I did my best,” said Abellana, who came in second in the 60-meter shuttle run with a time of 14.35 seconds, third in the standing vertical jump with 63.50 centimeters, and third in the one-minute push-up test with 43 reps.
“Maybe that’s important too because even if I didn’t perform my best today, the coaches can still see that I can bounce back because I am physically fit,” she added.
The Fitness and Sports Management magna cum laude is grateful for the continuous support of the UST fans despite bidding farewell to the Tigresses.
“I’m just super thankful for the constant support because even after I graduated, they always tell me they’re still supporting me until I turn pro,” Abellana said. “They know my capabilities and they believe I can do it, so they always remind me to trust myself.”
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