Handball women make mark anew, set Worlds focus
Aurora Adriano has instilled a culture of success among her teammates, one that rewarded the Philippine women’s handball team with another podium performance on the continental stage.
With that silver finish at the just-concluded 10th Asian Beach Handball Championships in Muscat, Oman, there’s no doubt in Adriano’s mind that self-trust will be carried over to their future assignments, especially next year’s world championships, where the Philippines will make another appearance.
“Our goal is not just to play, we want to win. We aim to be the best, everything we do is focused on that,” Adriano told the Inquirer.
The Filipinos toppled India and Hong Kong twice in the preliminary rounds but faced a solid core from Vietnam, which eventually took the gold medal.
Nathalia Prado and Adriano joined hands with Zhalyn Mateo, Bernadette Mercado, Mary Grace Berte, Rapril Aguilar in their second medal performance since they captured a bronze medal in the Southeast Asian Championships last February in Thailand.
“We spent time focusing on the improvement of individual skills and how the team can maximize each one’s strength. During the game, we try to execute the game plan and adjust when needed,” said Adriano, a former member of the PH women’s basketball team.
Also part of this medal-winning squad were Gretchie Roque, Josephine Ong and Jane Varguez, while the coaching staff, led by Joanna Franquelli, together with goalkeeper coach Luzviminda Pacubas and strength and conditioning coach Gabriel Montini De Guzman, did a splendid effort.
“Going to this (Asian) championship, our aim was to qualify and we did. The new team members were able to gain experience and we still have enough time to prepare for the world championships,” said Franquelli, also a former basketball standout.
Team Philippines qualified for the 2026 World Women’s Handball Championships after last year’s silver performance in the Asian championships.
“For now, we will shift the focus on indoor handball and the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games. We’re optimistic that we will perform well given adequate support,” said Franquelli.
The nation has been making great strides in the Olympic team sport, with the men’s team striking gold in the last SEA championships in Thailand in October.
The women’s team also took the silver during the previous Asian championships in Bali, Indonesia, to qualify for the 2024 world championships, where they placed 12th.
