High-flying Cebuano spiker Edward Ybañez saw his star rise a little higher on Sunday night as he led the Cignal HD Spikers to triumph and win the coveted championship in the Spikers’ Turf Season 1 Reinforced Conference with a 25-17, 32-30, 25-23 victory over the Philippine Air Force in the deciding Game 3 at the Arena in San Juan City.
Down 0-1 in the finals after losing Game 1, 15-25, 25-19, 19-25, 19-25, Ybañez said that head coach Michael Carino instructed them to tighten up on their serves and become more airtight with their net defense.
The move proved to be a pivotal turn in the series. They eventually regrouped in Game Two, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, to tie the series up and forge a Game 3.
It all, however, would have been for naught had it not been for the sensational performance of the former University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) ace, who was adjudged as the Finals MVP of the competition after scoring 13 points in the rubber match.
His fellow Cebuano and USPF teammate, Edmar Bonono, added 10 for Cignal.
The result was the fruit of Ybañez’s hard-earned labor which saw him make the move to Manila, and in the process, put him hundreds of miles away from his wife and children.
The transition period was difficult for the lanky high-leaping spiker that he nearly gave up just a week into training.
“At first, it was really hard to be away from my family especially since I already have kids. Then, having to mesh with the team was also a challenge but eventually, I learned how to be here in Manila with the help of my teammates and my coach,” related Ybañez in an exclusive talk with Cebu Daily News.
Ybañez also described the Manila style of play as more demanding than that of Cebu, something that he also had trouble with at the onset.
“The training here is harder than in Cebu. I was already ready to give up in the first week! They’re also very strict here. It’s different in Cebu where we can relax sometimes. So because of that, my game has changed for the better,” added the soft-spoken volleyball ace.
Up next for Ybañez will be the beach volleyball competition in the Philippine Super Liga slated in February.
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