Two years after taking a leap of faith to the Philippines, Savi Davison wins her first PVL title with the PLDT High Speed Hitters.
After two years and four conferences, Savi Davison can finally call herself a Premier Volleyball League champion.
This, as the PLDT High Speed Hitters ruled the inaugural PVL on Tour over the weekend, following an epic five-set victory against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Davison shone brightly in her first-ever PVL finals appearance for the High Speed Hitters, putting in a game-high 23 points, to go along with nine excellent receptions in the thrilling 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 24-26, 15-8 victory against the Crossovers.
But like their semifinals against the Creamline Cool Smashers, Davison wasn’t alone in lifting PLDT to its first-ever PVL championship. Behind her 23 markers were 20 huge points and seven huge blocks from Mika Reyes, while Majoy Baron and Kim Kianna Dy finished with 13 apiece.
“I’ve been saying this, from every angle, we’re a threat! I’m telling you, in practice, in games, I cannot believe that the girls show up,” Davison reflected after PLDT’s title conquest. “I’ve said this before, but I think we have some of the best athletes in our gym, and I’m so glad to be a part of it. They make me better every day, and I just hope I can do the same.”
Beyond taking pride in PLDT’s renewed form, Davison has long considered the High Speed Hitters as her second family, being a group of sisters who have acted as her safe space away from Canada.
Thus, on top of playing with a well-oiled machine this time around, winning with a group that has witnessed her growth into one of the PVL’s most feared hitters is something that Davison will always cherish.
“PLDT was here way before I got here, and I’m just glad to be in a position where I can contribute. I wasn’t added to the team to turn some switch,” Davison reflected. “And people ask me all the time, ‘Why PLDT?’, but I can’t really say anything else, but I’m so glad, and it’s either PLDT or nothing for me.”
“So I’m just glad to find a family here, I’m glad to call these people [family] and…Receive and give love to them. I’m just glad it was with this group. I mean, I couldn’t imagine this with any other group, any other teammates, coaches, supporting staff. I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Not to mention, Savi Davison has also gone through several heartbreaks with PLDT — from several fourth or fifth place finishes, to even spending an entire conference in street clothes due to an injury.
Yet despite these adversities, Davison stuck it out with her PLDT family, turning each pain into motivation, while soaking up lessons that she could apply with the High Speed Hitters.
“I feel like as well that we couldn’t catch a break. Semis, quarters, whatever it was, but I think it just goes to show that…it just makes it feel so much better when you had to fight for it,” she said. “So I’m glad that we were able to show up [against Chery Tiggo] and do what we have to do.”
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.