In joining the Creamline Cool Smashers, veteran middle blocker Bea de Leon is embracing a “different kind of pressure” even as she also admits to feeling like a rookie once again.
Creamline confirmed over the weekend that they had signed De Leon and Denden Lazaro-Revilla from the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, a move that reunited the pair with a couple of their former collegiate teammates.
“Siguro, hindi pa siya super nagsi-sink in, in a way. Sad, parang really bittersweet,” De Leon told ABS-CBN News on Monday, January 8, of her change in teams.
“Sad ako na umalis ako sa Choco [Mucho], pero siyempre, happy rin ako and excited for myself, for a new beginning,” she added.
Leaving Choco Mucho was a difficult decision for De Leon, who has played for the Flying Titans since 2019, and served as their team captain.
She saw the Rebisco-backed franchise through ups-and-downs, capped by their first-ever finals stint in the 2023 PVL Second All-Filipino Conference — where they lost to Creamline.
It turned out to be De Leon’s last ride with the Flying Titans.
“I think naman I’ve given everything I could for Choco Mucho, and I know that I’ve put them first all this time, all these years that I’ve been there,” De Leon said, stressing that her decision to change teams is “one of the hardest things I had to do.”
With Creamline, De Leon believes that she has an opportunity to grow and learn, particularly from their veteran core, headlined by Alyssa Valdez and Michele Gumabao.
Though she has developed greatly as a player since the last time she shared a team with Valdez, De Leon will head into her new adventure, feeling much the same way as she did in 2014, when she was a rookie with the Blue Eagles.
“Honestly, these people that I’m gonna come in with, and I’m gonna be with — sila Ate Ly, all of these people — they’re really veterans. And to me, coming into this team, beyond the UAAP, honestly, wala naman akong napapatunayan eh,” De Leon said.
“So, for me talaga, I wanna come in here, and it’s a privilege for me to be able to be given an opportunity with a team like Creamline, and be able to learn from all of them. So coming in here, again, that different type of pressure na bata ulit ako, parang rookie ulit ako,” she said.
“Excited ako to feel that way,” she added.
But while she feels like a rookie, De Leon also brings a wealth of experience with her in Creamline — the knowledge of different systems, as she has played for a handful of other coaches in Choco Mucho.
She is confident that she can contribute to Creamline in this regard.
“Coming in here, I guess what I just hope to bring pa rin is my passion for the game, my love for the game. I wanna come in there every day and do my best,” she said.
“I wanna come in here, knowing there are vets beside me … [I’m] coming in here with a new perspective, learning again, knowing na surrounded ako ng mga beterano,” she said.
“Like I said, from my perspective, I haven’t proven anything. So I wanna learn from them,” she added. (ABS-CBN News)