MJ Phillips is not one to rest on her laurels, especially now that she's got her sights set on an even bigger challenge.
Despite her upcoming tryout in the Korean V-League, the Petro Gazz middle blocker remains laser-focused in her team's championship campaign in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
Phillips, who was named the Reinforced Conference 1st Best Middle Blocker, confirmed that she has accepted the invitation of the Korean Volleyball Federation to participate in the V-League's Asian Quota Player Draft.
This news came just moments after the Angels clinched a spot in the gold medal series on Thursday night.
For Phillips, the opportunity to play in Korea came about through a conversation with teammate Vania Edralin.
"She spoke to me and she said 'Hey, they're looking for a [player] for the Asian Quota in the Korean League' and I figured I'd shoot my shot," Phillips shared.
Despite the possibility that the tryouts might come in the middle of the season, Phillips said she has the full support of her Petro Gazz family as she aims to carve a new path in her volleyball career.
"They supported me all the way. Of course, I asked the management because there's a possibility that it'll come in the middle of the season so they just were proud of me and they encouraged me to try out internationally," Phillips said.
The 6-foot middle blocker is excited to test her skills against Korea's top-flight talents.
"I'm looking forward to high-level volleyball. Not to say that this isn't, I'm just saying that Korea is just on a different level and I just want to see how my skills level up to that," she added.
Phillips finished with a game-high 15 points on 11 attacks and four kill blocks to spearhead the Angels' 25-17, 25-23, 25-15 Game Three win over PLDT at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Petro Gazz is now set to take on Creamline for the fourth time in the PVL finale.
Phillips is not the only Filipino player who has been invited for the Korean V-League Draft.
Also invited to be part of the women's pool are Akari's Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Mylene Paat of Chery Tiggo, Creamline's Jia De Guzman, and the F2 Logistics duo of Majoy Baron and Iris Tolenada.
Over at the men's side, Cignal's Marck Espejo, JP Bugaoan, and Manuel Sumanguid III are all invited to try out along with Jau Umandal of AMC-Cotabato.
