Bella Belen PVL Rookie Draft
Bella Belen isn’t going anywhere.
After missing the first day of the PVL Rookie Combine due to prior obligations, the three-time UAAP MVP finally showed up on Day 2 at Paco Arena, where she quashed all doubts of her playing anywhere else.
“At the end of the day, we’re here in the Philippines. We will still choose to love the Philippines,” Belen said, before playfully adding: “Love?”
“I have decided to go through the draft.”
No doubt, Capital1 is all smiles after that declaration.
“If we’re talking of a finisher, it would really be Belen. If we would only be basing from the UAAP … Belen could really be the player who could make a change,” Capital1 coach Roger Gorayeb earlier said.
The Solar Spikers own the No. 1 pick in the Rookie Draft, and although there is that uncertainty of Belen eventually leaving to play abroad, the franchise, a source said, is dead set on picking the three-time UAAP MVP, whose stellar career with National University produced three titles in four years.
Previously hesitant
Belen could have still stayed as a super senior but opted to turn pro after the Lady Bulldogs defeated La Salle for this season’s crown.
Gorayeb previously told the Inquirer that he was on the fence about locking on Belen as his selection, saying that she might forfeit her slot if an offer from international countries arrives.
“Of course, she’s a good choice to be the first pick,” the veteran mentor said. “[But] I don’t want to say anything final. Of course she’s in our top list.”
“But if I will be the only one to choose, it would really be Belen because we need her style of play. We can shape her and she could blend well to our team,” he added.
From a pioneering crew of unheralded players, the Solar Spikers have injected some competitiveness into its roster with the inclusion of veteran playmaker Iris Tolenada.
They secured former La Salle opposite hitter Leila Cruz with the second overall pick in the first Rookie Draft last year before picking libero Roma Mae Doromal in the second round.
Capital1 reached a first quarterfinal stint behind Russian import Marina Tushova, but when it comes to the local crew, Capital1 has been needing a go-to scorer since it joined the league.
And Belen could exactly be that.
But the high-octane hitter isn’t counting that as a sure thing.
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“I am not thinking that I would be the No. 1 pick since there’s a lot of talented players who are in the draft,” she said. “I am also still waiting for which team would choose me.”
