Old rivalries banished as Ogunsanya, Molde join Choco Mucho
MANILA, Philippines – Choco Mucho Flying Titans' new signees Aduke Ogunsanya and Isa Molde shook off past bad vibes as they now become teammates with former rivals from the Ateneo Lady Eagles.
Now getting to play with the likes of Bea de Leon, Kat Tolentino and Ponggay Gaston on the same side of the net, the players out of La Salle and UP spoke of the matter professionally.
"We have to break the idea na bawal lumipat sa ibang teams dahil member sila ng rival team [dati]. Inaalis ko yun sa idea ko mismo na bawal yun kasi we play professional eh. Professional league na siya," Ogunsanya, who even served as a skipper for the DLSU Lady Spikers, told Philstar.com.
"We think openly sa mga ganitong bagay," she added.
Molde, meanwhile, admitted that while it was a bit unnerving to suddenly become teammates with her former foes, she took the change in stride as a way to improve in her volleyball career.
"Kasi nung first na [lipat ko], yung sa Motolite at sa PLDT, kasi parang nasanay ako na laging may kasamang teammate na galing sa UP talaga. So nung una, naweirduhan ako kasi parang wala ito sa comfort zone ko," Molde said.
"Iniisip ko na lang na challenge ito for me na maka-adapt sa kanila," she added.
And Flying Titans coach Oliver Almadro, who also mentors the Lady Eagles in the UAAP, expressed his excitement to see the players join forces after operating on opposite sides of the net for so long.
"I'm really excited Aduke doing a high five with Bea on the same side, with Des [Cheng], doing a high five with Kat at the same side, sa ganon. And Isa, going around Ponggay. Diba? It's exciting," Almadro said.
But at the end of the day, the decorated mentor knows that the UAAP rivalries in the past are just that — belonging in the past.
"This is professional, there's no more color here. You know? What's important is what they can bring to the court, what they can bring to the team," he said.
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