Eya Laure embraces rare showdown with sister EJ across the net

For most players, Tuesday night at the Filoil EcoOil Centre was just another grind in the long stretch of the Premier Volleyball League season.

For Eya Laure, it felt like a flashback — and a first — all at once.

Across the net stood her sister, EJ Laure, no longer a teammate in the same huddle but a rival in different colors. When Choco Mucho Flying Titans outlasted Nxled Chameleons, 27-25, 28-26, 16-25, 25-19, the box score told a story of clutch scoring and momentum swings. But beyond the numbers was something more personal — two sisters tracing diverging paths that began side by side.

“Actually, namimiss ko siya kasama,” said Eya following the win.

“Pero iba pala yung feeling kapag kalaban ko siya. Kasi last na nakalaban ko siya, parang high school pa ako, tas college na, nagtu-tune up kami.”

They had grown used to sharing the same goals, the same systems, even the same professional beginnings after college. Years of familiarity built an instinct that doesn’t fade just because the jerseys change.

“Masaya lang ako, masaya ako na sabay kaming nakakapaglaro until now. Nakakatuwa kasi siyempre, parang pagka nakikita ko siyang pumapalo, alam ko na kaagad kung saan siya pupunta e,” said the Alas Pilipinas standout.

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EJ Laure and Eya Laure are set to play on opposing sides for the first time,

After 12 years of being teammates from their UST days to the professional league.@eyalaureee @ejfalcon pic.twitter.com/YwtghynE86

— Shy Na, Nitura (@queensleya_) August 6, 2025

That familiarity, ironically, became an edge.

With Choco Mucho staring at a 9-15 deficit in the fourth set, Eya flipped the switch. She scored six of the team’s last 10 points, turning tension into separation and sealing the Flying Titans’ second straight victory. She finished with 13 points — all off attacks — in a two-hour duel that demanded both heart and endurance.

EJ, limited to the first two sets, contributed three points for Nxled. Still, every exchange across the net carried weight beyond the rally.

“Parang gano’n, sabi ko, gano’n ako ka-familiar sa ate ko. Na-miss ko rin kasi, siyempre, last namin, last kaming nagkasama, is last year? Last, last year. So ayun, parang iba lang yung feeling na ate mo yung kalaban mo,” Eya said.

The night was not without its challenges. Eya managed an abdominal strain through the match, pushing through discomfort in a contest that was as emotional as it was physical. On her side of the net, though, she found comfort in another guiding presence — Sisi Rondina.

“Pero buti na lang nandiyan si Ate Sisi sa side ko na ‘to tap. Kasi kung ano yung ginagawa ni Ate Sisi sa akin na pag-tap or pag-remind, yun yung ginagawa kasi ng ate ko before,” she said.

“So ayun lang, masaya na marami akong ate sa paligid ko.”

In a league defined by rivalries and rising stakes, this was a different kind of battle — one measured not just by points, but by shared history. On Tuesday, the Laure sisters stood on opposite sides of the net. But in many ways, they were still playing the same game they always have: pushing each other forward.

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