It was as if she never left home.
Setter Mars Alba easily adapted to her new club and the system of head coach Dante Alinsunurin just a month after transferring to Choco Mucho following the disbandment of her former team F2 Logistics.
“For me, I didn’t have a hard time adjusting because Choco Mucho is very welcoming. They also immediately introduced their system to us newcomers,” Alba said during the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Media Day on Sunday held at the TV5 Media Center.
The reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines Best Setter was one of the three offseason acquisitions of the Flying Titans along with hitters Royse Tubino and Mean Mendrez, and libero Bia General.
But what made Alba at home with the 2023 2nd
All-Filipino Conference runner-up is the similarities of Alinsunurin’s personality and coaching style to that of her former De La Salle University coach Ramil de Jesus.
“Actually, I’m really happy playing under coach Dante who is a very good coach. He reminds me of coach Ramil. They are the same in many ways, like having an effective system and they are both men of few words,” Alba said.
“Also, coach Dante is fun to be with,” Alba added of the former men’s national team coach who steered the Philippines to a silver medal finish in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
The playmaker also got a chance to advance her setting skills under the guidance of former national team standout Alinsunurin’s deputy Jessie Lopez.
“I’m grateful that when I joined Choco Mucho I got to hone my setting skills further as well as enhance my volleyball IQ,” she said.
“I really learned a lot from coach Jessie given that we’ve only been together for a few weeks.”
Alba’s arrival added more options for Alinsunurin in Choco Mucho’s already loaded setter position with mainstays Deanna Wong and Jem Ferrer.
But Alba, who played behind F2 Logistics’ starting setter Kim Fajardo last conference, is ready to fight for her spot in the Flying Titan’s rotation.
“It’s exciting, really. A healthy competition between the three of us,” she said.
“Also with three setters in the team, we get to share and exchange ideas and skills.”
The season-opening tournament is set to unfold on 20 February.
