Sta. Lucia looking forward to Ukrainian import's 'baptism of fire'

MANILA, Philippines – Sta. Lucia Realty has paraded another import, but head coach Jerry Yee knows that it takes time before she could assert her dominance in the ongoing Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix.

Bodhana Anisova of Ukraine emerged from a back-breaking 26-hour flight last Tuesday to power the Lady Realtors in their match against Petron on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Although her international resume may not be as thick as other imports, the Lady Realtors are pinning their hopes on her, knowing that she has what it takes to help Canadian imports Marisa Field and Kristen Moncks as well as local stars MJ Philips, Pam Lastimosa, Janine Navarro and Djanel Cheng.

“We don’t expect her to dominate right away,” said Yee, noting that she still has time to fit into the system as the Lady Realtors won’t be seeing action until November 7 following their game against heavyweight Petron.

“She’s still shy and very quiet. It looks like she’s still warming up to her new teammates. But it’s okay. She just came from a 26-hour flight so we want to break her gently into the system and hope for the best.”

Anisova will be coming in with odds stacked against her.

The Lady Realtors’ original choice, Bulgarian women’s volleyball team member, Slavina Koleva failed to make it that sent them back to the drawing board to plot another hiring process.

Then, head coach Sammy Acaylar stepped down and was replaced by Yee with only two weeks left before the start of this season-ending conference.

In their first game, the Lady Realtors faded against fellow young team Iriga City, leading to a sorry five-set meltdown that left them

Yee stressed that Anisova will be tested against Petron, especially against American imports Hillary Hurley and Lindsay Stalzer, who have been here for the past couple of months.

“She will be tested against Petron,” said Yee, reiterating that they are tempering their expectations on their 26-year old Ukrainian import.

“This could be her baptism of fire. But it’s okay. Petron players have been together for the past few months and their system is already intact. On the other hand, we’ve just started with our program and we are still trying to figure things out.”

“But we’ll see. Sana maganda ang ipakita.”