Mika, Tots captivate Taiwanese coach

Mika Reyes of PLDT and Tots Carlos of Creamline made a lot of heads turn during the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference.

One of those who were in awe was KingWhale Taipei mentor Teng Yen-Min.

Teng, the youthful former national team standout, expressed her admiration for Reyes and Carlos, saying that their strong performances "couldn't leave my mind."

Teng has very good reasons to fall in love with Reyes and Carlos' games.

Reyes, in fact, was a solid force to be reckoned with at the middle spot for the High Speed Hitters, enough to emerge as Best Middle Blocker in this mid-season conference.

Carlos, for her part, was also simply impressive, delivering a strong performance in the eliminations before powering the Cool Smashers to a perfect record in the semifinals en route to winning the Most Valuable Player of the Conference award.

The Cool Smashers also defeated the Taiwanese in a lopsided fashion, 25-21, 25-19, 25-8, in the gold medal match, giving Teng a lot of reasons to go gaga over the Filipino stars.

"The ones that are always on my mind are PLDT's No. 3 (Reyes) and Creamline's Carlos," Teng said shortly after clinching the silver medal of this tourney that also offered a ticket to the AVC Cup for Women that the country will host from 21 to 29 August.

"They're always on my mind. They couldn't leave my mind."

Teng said they are far from their deadly form.

In fact, they are still in their off-season and played without five key players in Gan Kehui, Wu Fang-Yu, Lia Xiang-Chen, Chen Jia-Man, and Lin Shuhe, who are all training with the Chinese Taipei national squad that is preparing for the AVC Cup.

She said if they will be given a chance, she wants to face Creamline, Cignal and PLDT anew as a complete unit.

"These five players would always watch our matches. They were surprised that there were a lot of fans here in the Philippines," said Teng, who is no stranger to Filipino brand of volleyball after handling Alyssa Valdez at the Attack Line squad in the Taiwan league in 2017.

"This time, we're not complete, but we are looking forward to playing Creamline, Cignal and PLDT again once we're already complete as a team."

Overall, Teng said they truly enjoyed every minute on the floor.

"When we joined, it was really fun and entertaining," she said, admitting that she loves the warmth and hospitality that only Philippine volleyball can offer.

"I'm hoping that the best athletes in Taiwan can be able to play here."