Marina Tushova of Capital1 Solar Spikers takes part in the PVL Strengthening Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — PVL’s all-time leading scorer, Marina Tushova, will play in the Azerbaijan League but hopes to return to the Capital 1 next year after a stellar performance in the 2024 Enhanced Conference.
The Russian spiker saved the best for last, scoring 50 points on Saturday to set a new PVL scoring record for the third time this year.
In her last games, Tusova proved to be at the highest level offensively, breaking the league record of 44 points set by Priscilla Rivera, who transferred from Acari two years ago, with an explosion of 45 points against Choco Mucho and 49 points in a 10-day span against Nxled.
PVL: Marina Tusova scores 50 points in PVL debut
But Tusova’s recent career highs didn’t end in victory as her maiden PVL campaign ended with Capital 1 suffering a heartbreaking 25-19, 36-34, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12 loss to Signal in the knockout quarterfinals on Saturday at the Filoil Ecooil Center in San Juan City.
Tushoba, who has 301 points in nine games, joined new Azerbaijan team Ganja and got another chance to play overseas, but said she looks forward to returning to the Solar Spikers next year after building a team that managed just one win into a dark horse contender.
“I’ve already signed with Azerbaijan team Ganja and I’ll be there until April, so now I’m going to another country,” said the Capital 1 generational star after recording 47 kills, two blocks, an ace, 16 impressive receptions and 12 digs.
Read: PVL: Marina Tusova overcomes struggles in record-breaking match
“But I hope I get another chance, I want to come back here and play again. I hope I can do better next year, I hope Capital 1 can do better and I hope I can contribute something more to this great team,” she added.
One thing Russo learned at PVL is to keep smiling even in difficult situations, a Filipina trait she will carry with her to future assignments in other countries.
Marina Tušová and Capital1 Solar Spikers at the PVL Strengthening Conference. – MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“you [Filipinos] “It’s taught me that you can have fun and work hard. You can have a smile and work at the same time. Yes, I love it. I want to keep it up. I need to keep it up,” the 6-foot-tall spiker said.
“The team taught me a lot about believing in myself. So, here I am believing in myself. I want to thank my team and the fans. They supported me a lot. And I think my team, the coaches, the guys, the manager, everyone on this team believes in me more than anyone else.” [I do]”And it gives me the feeling, ‘Marina, we all believe in you. Believe in yourself.’ That’s what I want to learn and continue to grow here.”
READ: PVL: Tusova urges teammates to step up: ‘I can’t play by myself’
Tushoba has parted ways with Capital 1 for now but is hopeful the team can continue this dream run all the way to the All-Filipino Conference PVL playoffs in November.
“I think they need to work harder because they are already at their limit. They have already learned everything we do in practice. Most of the time, when we are already at our limit and in the most difficult moments, [we try to] “Go up again,” said Tushoba.
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“I think they’ve done a lot of work over the last two and a half months. Today, we fought until the end. It’s unbelievable, but it’s very difficult to beat a team that’s stronger than us. But we fought until the end.”
