National women’s volleyball team member Alyssa Valdez was named as the Most Trusted Sportsperson by Reader’s Digest. During the awarding ceremony last Friday, March 22, the former Pinoy Big Brother housemate expressed her gratitude towards everyone who made it possible for her to receive the award.

This is Alyssa’s second time earning the said award. Winners of the award are determined by an open-ended survey among Filipinos which was conducted by Reader’s Digest.

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In her acceptance speech, the volleyball superstar shared how trust plays a huge role in her volleyball career. 

“As an athlete and part of a team sport, trust always plays an important role. Trust in one’s ability, believing in my teammates, and having that confidence to rely on our coaches and mentors’ decisions are just some things we deal with every single day,” she shared.

Alyssa added that trust doesn’t come easy as it takes time for it to manifest. Through her award, the PBB alum hoped she and the others who won would continue building that trust with everyone.

“It takes a lot of effort to build trust. We have to work for it constantly and continuously so that we can achieve our goals. With that, I hope that we do continue to build trust amongst each other [even] though we’re from different fields. To make a difference in our society… Thank you so much for recognizing women in sports,” she ended. 

READ: Alyssa Valdez wins gold with club team in PVL

Meanwhile, in a brief interview with ABS-CBN News, the Creamline Cool Smashers team captain expressed how important it was for her to be recognized. She claimed that it gives more opportunity to fellow women who are in sports and their advocacies to be an inspiration to the youth.

“We’re very, very thankful for all these recognition na talagang nagkakaroon na ng space yung kababaihan dito sa larangan ng sports. I think one thing na I would say [is that this award] is such a big responsibility also for me and to all the women in sport na maging inspiration pa sa kabataan” she shared.