Building blocks
It was far from the start Alas Pilipinas wanted for its women’s team in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games—but neither was it unexpected.
So the nation’s brightest volleyball stars are milking the result for whatever they can get from it.
“[W]e came into this tournament very excited, very ready to learn, and very ready to be put out of our comfort zone,” said team captain Jia De Guzman in an interview with local Games broadcaster One Sports after absorbing a 25-18, 25-22, 25-8 defeat at the hands of nine-time Asiad champion China on Wednesday.
For the Alas women, the Asian Games stint provides a perfect competitive laboratory to begin building the future of the national volleyball program.
“All of the things that happened the past year have really led to us coming into this moment,” added De Guzman. “And it doesn’t stop here. We’re really trying to absorb all of the experience that we can because this is a stepping stone for all the plans in the future for the Philippine national volleyball team.”
There’s little consolation in a defeat, but the silver lining shone brightly. The Filipino women gave a good account of themselves against a team that is aiming for a third straight Asiad crown.
The Philippines stayed in step with China for two sets, much to the delight of the crowd at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium, which turned 25 years old this month and is located in the castle town of Okazaki in Aichi Prefecture, some 43 kilometers southeast of Nagoya.
The nationals even tied the count at 20 in the second set, before China rallied through and then cruised in the third.
“I think it just shows what kind of potential this team has that when we really believe in ourselves, whoever we face, we will fight until the end,” said De Guzman, the long-time national team setter.
Xin Tang led China with 19 points, all from attacks, while Yushan Zhuang chipped in 17 from 15 kills and two blocks.
Top performers
The Philippines’ young stars contributed heavily for the country’s cause, with La Salle’s Angel Canino making her Asiad debut with 14 points off 13 kills and former University of Santo Tomas star Eya Laure chipping in 10. Alyssa Solomon, the ex-National U standout who has played internationally as an import, added nine points.
“There’s no better way to learn or to know our current level, except to put everything on the court, whether it’s a win or a loss, as long as we leave everything on the floor,” said De Guzman, who leads the young Alas crew now after being one of the young standouts in the 2018 Asiad squad that featured Alyssa Valdez, Jaja Santiago-Minowa, Aby Maraño, Mylene Paat and Majoy Baron.
“And I think we really had fun in this game because we were challenged, but at the same time we were pushed to our limits. And it will help in our game tomorrow,” she added.
The Philippines battles Kazakhstan on Thursday and National coach Taka Minowa said the game against China provided a “good warmup” to the crucial duel that could book a quarterfinal berth for the country.
