Cha Cruz-Behag in action for F2 Logistics against PLDT. PVL Media.
MANILA, Philippines -- Cha Cruz-Behag made her highly anticipated comeback to the local volleyball scene on Tuesday, suiting up for F2 Logistics in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.
The De La Salle University great, fondly called "Miss Everything" by fans for her all-around skill set, has not played since 2018 when the Cargo Movers were still in the now-defunct Philippine Superliga (PSL).
She came off the bench in F2's season-opener against PLDT at the PhilSports Arena, finishing with three points while providing typically solid floor defense and passing. Afterward, she admitted that she is still in the process of regaining her previous form.
"Hindi naman overnight -- ah, four years nawala, pero nandiyan na. Alam ko, ang dami ko ring errors sa loob," Cruz-Behag acknowledged after the Cargo Movers survived the High Speed Hitters in five sets, 25-22, 25-21, 14-25, 20-25, 16-14.
"I think I still need to double-time every day, which is I'm really trying my best every training na makabalik," she added.
Cruz-Behag won three championships with the Lady Spikers and was a two-time Finals MVP. She went on to have a trophy-laden run with F2 in the PSL as well, before stepping away in 2018 to focus on her family.
She gave birth to her son with pilot Rey Behag in October 2019.
Despite her long layoff from volleyball, Cruz-Behag enjoys the full trust of new F2 Logistics coach Regine Diego -- who was her teammate in the Lady Spikers under head coach Ramil de Jesus.
"Of all the people in F2, the longest, pinaka-matagal kong nakasama is siyempre Cha and Aby Maraño," said Diego after making her triumphant coaching debut in the PVL. "So I trust na they know what to do, because they're mature already."
"They have the leadership skills. So tama 'yung napili ko doon sa crucial points, 'cause I know na magli-lead sila," she added.
For Cruz-Behag, their hard-earned win against PLDT in their season debut shows that there's plenty for them to work on. The Cargo Movers squandered a two-set advantage and needed to save a match point against the High Speed Hitters before grabbing the win.
"As a team, we feel like it's a good challenge for us, kung ano man 'yung mapakita namin, kung ano pa 'yung kailangan naming ma-improve. Ang dami pa naming kailangan i-polish as a team," she said.
"A win is a win, pero siyempre, ang dami pa naming lapses na kailangan namin i-improve. This is just the start of the conference, ang dami pa naming pagdadaanan, and ang dami pang mga kalaban," she added.
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