MUCH DESERVED
AMMAN, Jordan—They came from across the Philippines’ three major islands and had just two weeks to be together to train before being sent out for battle.
And after it was all said and done in the AVC U16 tournament here, these young Filipino belles became the first PH squad—and youngest volleyball team—to ever qualify for a World Championship without needing an automatic berth from hosting.
“We had a hard time at first, because we all came from different places—Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao—and each of us had a different system,” setter Resty Jane Olaguir told the Inquirer in the native tongue after the Filipinos qualified for the 2026 FIVB U17 World Championship in Santiago, Chile, with a fifth place finish at the expense of regional power Thailand.
“The first week was really about adjusting, but by the second week, we were able to adapt.”
This ragtag team sacrificed being away from their families for the All Souls’ Day weekend to fight for the three stars and the sun, and they capped off their international debut with a 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22 win over the Thais on Saturday at Prince Hamzah Sports Hall for that berth.
The Philippines clinched the final Asian spot as China had already qualified as the defending world champion. Other qualified Asian teams include Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan.
Team captain Xyz Rayco, who dazzled all tournament long, capped her AVC debut with 30 points and was happy to find ways to keep the whole team on the same page despite coming from different programs and speaking different dialects.
“I’m really happy because we found a way to communicate with each other and learned how to trust our teammates and coaches,” said Rayco.
Rayco and Olaguir and the 10 other players, Nadeth Herbon from Leyte National High School, Madele Gale from Sagay, Negros Occidental, Jhenica Sadia from Gracel Christian College Foundation (GCFF), Taguig, Libero Frances Ramos from Saint Michael College of Caraga in Nasipit, Merish Beltran from GCCF, Kristel Mirasol from Rafael B. Lacson Memorial High School in Talisay, Princess Sajulga from Kibawe, Bukidnon, Kim Peralta and Mischa Ysabel Ambrocio from University of Santo Tomas and Megan Hernandez from Canossa, Lipa, proved the importance of grassroots volleyball.
The Filipinos won a set against Japan, beat Iran, put up a gallant stand against silver medalist Chinese Taipei, before taking down Thailand in a match that was like for the title itself.
Longer prep time
After making a surprise entry to the Worlds, this team now gets a seven-month stretch to prepare, including an overseas training stint, before the powers that be add some names to plug whatever holes there are.
“This time, hopefully, we can prepare better,” coach Edwin Leyva said. “We’ll have more time to get ready, and the possibility of training abroad will enable us to learn and adapt to the systems used in Japan, Korea or Chinese Taipei.”
For Rayco and Olaguir, this is just the beginning.
“I’m really inspired because I’m still young, yet we’ve already come this far,” said Rayco. “And there’s still a higher level (of competition) ahead for us. I’m so happy that at my age, I was able to achieve this.”
“We’ll work even harder and give our best because we still have a lot of lapses to improve on,” Olaguir added. “When we return to the Philippines, we’ll train properly and keep giving our best.”
