Coach Rald Ricafort and the PVL Championship of Selflessness
The PLDT High Speed Hitters’ first championship was not an overnight miracle; it was a progressive harvest of faith and work laid brick by brick. Coach Rald Ricafort’s steady hand and insistence on process framed everything—the wins, the losses, the late-night corrections—and that insistence became the spine of this team’s PVL On Tour championship story.
Coach Rald’s Faith and Humility
When the semifinal clincher ended and the team realized they were headed to the finals, Coach Rald surprised many by becoming openly moved and shedding tears inside the court.
“Siguro yung faith na tiniis namin for the last year, yung tyinaga nila, yung feeling lang na nagbunga.. so medyo naging emotional.”
That moment revealed the emotional ledger behind the clean lines of practice plans and scouting reports, including months of faith and small sacrifices. He named the opponent plainly and without theatrics:
“Pag kalaban talaga yung Creamline, napaka hirap na talaga eh. Eh ang kapalit non mag-finals, so doble-doble yung pressure, pero noong nakaraos, talagang yung mga kinikimkim, medyo lumabas.”
The sentence captures how pressure accumulates and then finally spills—human proof that the championship was earned, not handed out.
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Legacy for Coach Rald, or Not?
Rald’s answer to questions about legacy exposes a coach who refuses to make the story about himself. ALL-STAR asked how much this first championship would mark his career, to which he said, “Actually, hindi ko gaanong iniisip. Ang priority ko talaga is makatulong sa team [at] sa players. Binanggit ko din naman sakanila, ang ultimate goal is syempre, manalo, pero yung process talaga na pagdadaanan — yun yung mas pinapahalagahan talaga namin.”
He reduces accolades to quiet background noise because his north star is the team’s growth, not his own name in the record book. When pressed if he felt entitled to credit how he orchestrated the plays to result in a historical championship, he even answers with humor:
“Wala talaga. Ang trabaho ko lang dito [ay] sumalo ng talo at ma-bash!”
Those words stop any narrative that would place him above the players; instead they anchor him beside them.
How the Team Mirrored the Coach’s Selflessness
What made the finals different was not a tactical revolution but the translation of Rald’s philosophy into play. The roster echoed his humility: players who took on defensive assignments, who accepted bench minutes without resentment, who passed up highlight plays in favor of finishing a point.
Those small, repeated choices became the cumulative advantage against the opponents and allowed PLDT to control critical stretches. The team’s rotation during the finals was an epitome of the philosophy “there are no single star players, only role players who make their team a star”.
The 5-setter championship match itself was not a dramatic cinematic sweep; it was a patient closing of the door. Members of the team who had carried months of doubt now smiled like people who recognized their own effort reflected back at them. The court became an honest place where a coach’s values produced results.
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The PVL championship that now hangs with the franchise’s name is more than a trophy — it is a certificate of combined effort and a timestamp for a team that trusted its process. Coach Rald’s selflessness summoned collective strength among the players, and that strength lifted a franchise to its first championship.
When the confetti settles and names fade from headlines, the memory that will linger is not a box score but a lesson: when a coach says the prize is secondary to the process, and then lives that truth, the team responds in kind. This PVL championship belongs to the players who played, the staff who supported, and the coaches whose humility turned a season into history.
