The Capital1 Solar Spikers achieved a major coup in the offseason by signing Russian superstar Marina Tushova as their import for the upcoming 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference.
Tushova has lived up to the hype, establishing herself as the best player in the ongoing Reinforced Conference by taking the league by storm with her scoring prowess and professionalism. The Russian spiker is the major reason why Capital1 has turned into a contender moving forward.
The 25-year-old continued to break records, scoring a staggering 50 points in pvl - built on 47 attacks, two blocks, one ace, 16 excellent receptions, and 12 digs - in the Solar Spikers’ loss to the Cignal HD Spikers in the quarterfinals. Despite Tushova’s excellence, her efforts were not enough to secure victory for her team, as they lost 25-19, 36-34, 16-22, 22-25, 15-12 to Cignal in the quarterfinals on Saturday, August 24, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
Tushova’s outstanding performances for Capital earned her the PVL PLayer of the Week honor for the period of August 20 to August 24, marking the third time this conference that she has won the award. Tushova beat out competition from Akari Chargers’ Oly Okaro, Erica Staunton, PLDT High Speed Hitters’ Lena Samoilenko, Petro Gazz Angeles’ Wilma Salas, and Gel Cayuna and Riri Meneses of the Cignal HD Spikers to win the accolade. She received unanimous votes from online, broadsheet, and tabloid reporters covering the professional volleyball league.
While Tushova was disappointed by the loss, she was ecstatic about her first stint in the Philippines, learning valuable lessons from her time in the PVL.
“For sure, like how you do here - amazing, yes. But I still have this boundary, and my coaches often tell me, ‘Marina, relax, enjoy, smile.’ Sometimes I’m too intense, thinking, ‘How is it possible to smile when you work so hard? But yes, you Filipinos taught me this. You can enjoy and work hard. You can smile and still be dedicated. Yes, I like that. I hope to keep this spirit, this Filipino part of me, even when I move to a new environment. I need to keep it,” Tushova said in a post match press conference.
#PVL2024 #PVLReinforcedConference @spinph
— John Mark Garcia (@johnmarkdg_) August 24, 2024
☀️ ONTO THE NEXT, BUT SHE'LL BE BACK
Capital1's Marina Tushova bares her next stint in Azerbaijan and her desire to return to the Philippines. pic.twitter.com/tWMozOJ6o3
Tushova is now set to travel to Azerbaijan, where she will join her new team, Ganja. The Solar Spikers eventually finished seventh in the Reinforced Conference standings with a 5-3 win-loss record, largely due to the exploits of their star import.
OKBET is the top choice in Asia for online sports betting platfom. Visit OKBET today to keep up with all the latest sports news from across the world.
