If there’s one thing glaringly clear after a week of skirmishes in the AVC Women’s Nations Cup in Vietnam is that the Philippines has announced its coming as a legitimate volleyball power.
So the silver medal that the Filipinos settled for after a 25-15, 25-17, 25-14 beating at the hands of the Vietnamese at Dong Anh Arena in Hanoi on Saturday night certainly glitters like gold—and for sure, is making their Southeast Asian neighbors take a second look at them from hereon.
“The Philippine team delivered a remarkable performance,” Vietnam coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet said through an interpreter after their win late Saturday night. “The Philippines will undoubtedly be a serious contender [later] this year [in the Southeast Asian Games].”
A marathon five-set win against Chinese Taipei in the semifinals last Friday night obviously had the Filipinos coming in fatigued for the gold medal match, but team skipper Jia De Guzman knows that Team PH is on the right track towards achieving a lifelong dream of dominating the region.
“It means everything, honestly, because it’s hard to see the growth of the sport and our team without the result,” De Guzman said. “We didn’t expect to get a silver coming into this tournament. We just knew that we had to give our best because last year we got the bronze.”
De Guzman was adjudged the best in her position for the second straight edition, and improving a rung as a team from the last time definitely proves that everyone on the squad is doing things right.
And that going all the way is the next target.
“This silver inspires us to go back to training and keep working together as a team and to keep going for this long-term program because, slowly but surely, we’re rising as a country,” said the 30-year-old playmaker.
A proud coach
Brazilian coach Jorge Souza de Brito also took pride in steering this intrepid crew.
“We are happy with second place. We’re on the way [to bigger things],” De Brito, who also coached the bronze medal team last year at home, said. “It’s a process. I’m happy and proud of all the players and coaching staff, all the support also that you have from the federation.
“It’s really amazing,” he went on. “Really, really good players that you have to develop them here and the group will become stronger and stronger year after year. I’m sure of it.”
No women’s team in the past has looked as formidable as this one, and with the SEAG coming later this year, De Brito and the players have months to address whatever lapses they had in the Hanoi tournament.
The talent is there, and though the Vietnamese coach did say that PH big guns Angel Canino and Bella Belen “stood out despite their modest height,” meshing the team even more will fall on the shoulders of De Brito.
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Height, of course, helps.
But a team that has jelled to the fullest can be as dangerous as the tallest side out there. They have until the SEAG in Thailand to find that out.
