Gia-Megatron duel fails to materialize, Jakarta BIN Libas Jakarta Pertamina Enduro

The duel between two friends in Korea, Giovanna "Gia" Milana and Megawati "Megatron" Hangestri, failed to materialize because Gia was injured.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The match between Jakarta BIN (purple) and Jakarta Pertamina Enduro women's teams in the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, took place at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC) on Friday (10/5/2024). In the match, Jakarta BIN emerged victorious with a score of 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20).

PALEMBANG, KOMPAS — The duel that Indonesian volleyball fans have been waiting for in Proliga 2024, namely between the outside hitter from the United States belonging to Jakarta Pertamina Enduro, Giovanna ”Gia” Elisa Milana, and opposite national belonging to Jakarta BIN< /a>, Megawati "Megatron" Hangestri Pertiwi, failed to materialize. This was due to a groin muscle injury that Gia suffered when Pertamina Enduro faced Jakarta Electric PLN in the second series in Semarang, Central Java, Thursday (2/5/2024).

That moment was not wasted by Jakarta BIN who appeared with full strength to crush Pertamina Enduro, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) in the Palembang series, South Sumatra , at GOR Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC), Friday (10/5/2024). Thanks to this victory, Jakarta BIN moved from fourth to second with 10 points. On the other hand, Pertamina Enduro slipped from second to third place with 9 points.

Also read: Megawati ”Megatron” Hangestri Shocks the First Day of the Palembang Series Pro League

Jakarta's assistant coach, Labib, said in a press conference that the key to victory was the team's optimal preparation before the match. After winning 3-1 against Jakarta Electric PLN on Thursday (9/5/2024), the players took quality rest and studied Pertamina Enduro's playing style together.

It cannot be denied that they consider Pertamina Enduro's main weakness to be the loss of Gia. In fact, statistically, Gia played quite well, namely contributing 63 points from three 2024 Proliga matches. This forced Pertamina Enduro to suddenly change players, namely recruiting an outside hitter from Germany, Ivana Vanjak, ahead of the Palembang series. which takes place May 9-12.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The atmosphere ahead of the match between Jakarta BIN women's team and Jakarta Pertamina Enduro in the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC), was intense on Friday (10/5/2024). In the match, Jakarta BIN won convincingly, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20).

With a very short amount of time, Vanjak has not been able to integrate with the other players. "On the contrary, our players are becoming more solid. That allows us to optimize the opportunity to win through the gaps in Pertamina Enduro's weaknesses," said Labib.

Overall, Labib conveyed that they were very satisfied to be able to sweep victories from two matches in the Palembang series this time. The results are a valuable capital to take on the second round of the Proliga 2024 starting from the Gresik series in East Java on May 16-19.

Also read: Megawati "Megatron" Hangestri Becomes "Earth Sriwijaya" Volleyball Magnet

”These two wins are very important to maintain our hopes of qualifying for the next round, the final four. "In the second round, the competition will definitely get tougher because other teams will take advantage of the opportunity to reshuffle their teams, especially for foreign players," said Labib.

Middle blocker Jakarta BIN, Wilda Siti Nurfadhilah Sugandi, said, apart from the opponent who had problems with new foreign players, Jakarta BIN's victory was also inseparable from the great support of the home crowd so that they felt they were playing at home. . This was also caused by Megawati's fever, so many residents were curious to witness and support Megawati directly in "Pempek City", Palembang.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The match between Jakarta BIN women's team and Jakarta Pertamina Enduro (white) in the 2024 Proliga Palembang series, South Sumatra, at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC), on Friday (10/5/2024). In the match, Jakarta BIN won convincingly, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20).

"The strong support for Megawati also has a positive impact on other players. We are all motivated to give our best performance. Because, we are convinced that Megawati's supporters are also praying for good results for all of us," said Wilda.

Apart from that, Wilda hopes that his team will not be complacent because there are still many shortcomings that must be addressed so that they can continue to compete on the path to the final four. "We must be able to improve our service and attack patterns and continue to prioritize collective play," he said.

The strong support for Megawati also has a positive impact on other players. We all become motivated to unleash our best abilities. Because we believe that Megawati's supporters also pray for good results for all of us.

It takes time to adapt

Meanwhile, Pertamina Enduro Coach Eko Waluyo does not deny that losing Gia has a significant impact on his team. With experience playing in the South Korean League with the club Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks in the 2023/2024 season, Gia quickly understood the playing style of Asians who prefer short and quick passes. On the other hand, Vanjak is not familiar with the Asian players' characteristics as he is competing on the "Yellow Continent" for the first time.

"Our new foreign player (Vanjak) is still very European and tends to favor high balls. So, it's a bit difficult to fit him into our playing style. That's why I rotated the game plan for him earlier so he would have a chance to understand the playing style here. Especially since he has only trained with the team twice," said Eko.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The appearance of opposite Jakarta BIN's national daughter, Megawati "Megatron" Hangestri Pertiwi, when facing Jakarta Pertamina Enduro in the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC) GOR, Friday (10 /5/2024).

Nevertheless, Eko believes his team's performance will be better in the next matches as Vanjak trains with the team more often.

"Hopefully, the players can click even more in the next matches. If all players understand each other, the team will play better," he said.

Outside hitter Pertamina Enduro, Hany Budiarti, said that the adaptation process for players in a team cannot be short. At least, yesterday, Gia needed about a month to really integrate with the local players.

Also read: Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi Looks at Second Season in Korea

Therefore, Hany hopes that the remaining matches can be optimized by local and foreign players to understand each other. "If you get the playing feel, this team can definitely play better. "We remain optimistic that we can maintain our hopes of achieving the short-term target, qualifying for the final four first," he said.

Gia is sad

The meeting between Gia and Megawati is actually one of the main attractions of Proliga 2024, eagerly awaited by volleyball fans in Indonesia. This is not unrelated to the extraordinary duet phenomenon of Gia and Megawati when they strengthened Red Sparks some time ago. During their time in Korea, they were very compact and made a significant contribution to bringing Red Sparks to third place in the league, which was the club's best achievement in the last seven years.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Outside hitter from the United States, Giovanna "Gia" Elisa Milana, after the match between Jakarta Pertamina Enduro and Jakarta BIN in the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, at GOR Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC), Friday (10/5/2024). In that match, Jakarta BIN won by a landslide, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20).

After watching the match between Jakarta BIN and Pertamina Enduro, Gia stated that his thigh muscle injury prevents him from continuing the rest of the 2024 Proliga competition with Pertamina Enduro. Although the injury is not serious, it needs a quite long recovery time of 8-10 matches, which means almost the entire remaining Proliga season. If he forces himself to play, it could negatively impact his career in the future.

However, Gia did not immediately return to her home country. He chose to do therapy with the club while supporting the struggles of his colleagues.

"Of course, I am very sad that I cannot finish this season here. Hopefully, someday in the future, I can have the opportunity to play here again. The competitive atmosphere here is very enjoyable, especially with the enthusiastic supporters," he said.

Also read: Female Volleyball Challenge to Follow in Megawati Hangestri's Footsteps

Regarding the meeting between herself and Megawati which fans were eagerly awaiting, Gia was also sad that she couldn't make the match happen.

"I understand people's curiosity about how we would perform against different clubs, because we were quite close while at Red Sparks. But, I apologize for failing to participate in the highly anticipated match," said the 25-year-old player.