Judith Abil bet on herself, and Cignal came calling. Now, she’s just resumed her PVL career with a new position at that.
When the PVL Draft Combine opened its doors to free agents in June, former NXLed wing spiker Judith Abil was one of many hopefuls attempting to resume their PVL careers. A fan favorite for the Chameleons, Abil was unfortunately released at the end of the 2023 All Filipino Conference.
Ultimately, Abil would find herself in the PVL again, with the Cignal HD Spikers betting on her during the lead-up to the 2024 Reinforced Conference.
“‘Yung sa free agent combine, nag-try lang ako magpasa sa e-mail. Tapos pumunta ako nung Day 1, and ‘yun. Cinontact ako nila coach mag-tryout dun sa team Cignal din. Nagtuloy tuloy na,” Judith recalled to reporters postgame.
However, there’s a twist to Abil’s PVL comeback. From a wing spiker, Abil was converted into a libero for the HD Spikers. From trying to penetrate the floor, Abil was now given the tall task of protecting it for Cignal.
Abil made her debut as a libero on Thursday, protecting Cignal’s floor in their dominant sweep over the Choco Mucho Flying Titans. With 15 excellent digs and eight excellent receptions, Abil was given Player of the Game nods as a first-time libero for her new crew.
“Kailangan i-embrace ‘yung position na binigay ng mga coaches akin, and ‘yun tiwala sa sarili, ‘wag mag-doubt talaga,” Abil told.
“Umpisa ‘yan sa training. Ayun, kailangan mag-dobleng effort kasi nga libero, then ayun galaw lang ‘yung dapat i–galaw sa loob,” she added to The GAME in a follow-up chat.
‘Malaki ‘yung potential niya’
As they say, it takes two to tango. As Judith Abil bet on herself, so did Cignal as they noticed her performance in the Combine. One of the HD Spikers’ assistants had seen her early on, and informed head coach Shaq delos Santos who was away at the time.
“Si Judith daw ganito, ganyan. So sige, papuntahin mo, and then nung nagkita kami, [sabi ko] balik ka next week. I-observe kita ng three days,” coach Shaq recalled to reporters.
From here, coach Shaq would observe Abil in practice, witnessing her immense upside firsthand.
“Pero mas nakikita ko, grabe ‘yung floor defense niya tsaka ‘yung receive. And then serve, service niya, every tune-up niya gagamitin ko siya sa service hanggang sa parang sabi ko, malaki ‘yung potential niya for libero which is ‘yung kailangan namin ma-improve.”
More than that, Abil also had the intangibles, namely her personality. According to coach Shaq, Abil is actually a “jolly” person, who’s also an “aggressive,” and “all out” player during their training. Despite being a newcomer, she wasn’t someone who’d hold back either according to the veteran mentor.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanya, isa ‘yun sa mga hinahanap namin sa player, na kailangan may konting kulit. Na alam namin pag trumabaho, grabe ‘yung galaw. So ayun, maraming aspect…talagang iba ‘yung level ng performance niya,” said coach Shaq, who remained cautiously optimistic due to the small sample size, and teams’ incoming adjustments.
‘Ang nawala lang talaga is ‘yung…’
Judith Abil herself would confirm all these, noting that she was once a service specialist in Cignal’s tune-ups until they asked her to try being a libero. As unfamiliar as it was, it’s just a matter of giving twice, or even thrice the effort for her transition into a floor defender.
At the same time, Abil also acknowledged her time as a wing spiker, where she’d also play some floor defense albeit in a smaller capacity.
“Ang nawala lang talaga is ‘yung makabigay ako ng puntos sa laro. Ang dapat ko lang gawin is bumawi na maganda ‘yung pasa para ‘di na mahihirapan ‘yung setter tsaka spiker…ganun na talaga ‘yung trabaho. Marami pang kulang, kailangan pa talaga siyang trabahuhin nang husto,” she told The GAME.
As for her improvements, Abil adds: “‘Yung sa mga check ball. Nakita naman nung first set tsaka second set na nahihirapan ako na mahabol ‘yung bola, ‘yung pacheck na sobrang haba. Kailangan lang talaga na bilisan ‘yung galaw ko talaga. ‘Yun ‘yung dodoblehin sa training.”
Banner Image courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.
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