Unfazed by the big-name stars on the opposite side of the court, Pemie Bagalay rose up to the challenge and stole the spotlight in VNS’ stunning five-set victory over the star-studded Imus-Ivy Tuason Photography last Sunday. Bagalay dropped 17 points on 16 attacks and one ace to go along with 24 excellent receptions to steer the Griffins to a 12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 11-25, 15-13 victory over the second-seeded AJAA Spikers in the 2023 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the Paco Arena. The former Mapua standout and VNS bested an Imus side that has national team standouts Kim Malabunga and Ish Polvorosa as well as former NCAA standouts Bonjomar Castel, Ronniel Rosales, Ridzuan Muhali, and Rey Taneo. Bagalay said that he constantly reminded his younger teammates to not get intimidated by Imus and just focus on getting the win. “Actually kasi ini-isa-isa ko rin sila to help them boost their confidence. Kasi, like ako kapag nasa laro, wala nang sino sino. Dapat level na kayo e, you’re all volleyball players in this big league so you should just go head-to-head with each other,” said Bagalay. “Wala ng sino ‘yan, wala ng ganun dapat. So I’m just trying to impart to them na ganun dapat yung mindset para malabas din nila yung confidence nila, he added. The beach volleyball standout also said that the team worked double to fill in the void left by Ron Medalla, who missed the game. “I just need to do my job. I just need to lead the team, lead everybody kasi wala rin si Ron so we have to double time in every aspect of the game so yun lang, we need to double our effort to get the win.” The win gave VNS a fighting chance to enter the playoffs with a 4-3 win-loss standing – good for fifth place.
