Keep believing, coach Frigoni tells charges, Alas Men faithful after falling short
The Alas Pilipinas men’s volleyball team was obviously eyeing a Southeast Asian Games gold after an inspiring run in the FIVB Volleyball World Championship.
But the Filipino Spikers took pride in their return to the podium in the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand, making their disciplinarian Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni proud of a bronze medal that, to him, glittered like gold after a 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 16-14 win over Vietnam in the battle for third on Friday at Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok.
“We knew we had a lot of shortcomings in our previous games, so we agreed to really battle it out, even if it was just for the bronze,” said skipper Bryan Bagunas. “This wasn’t what we pictured for the SEA Games; we prepared to fight for gold. But we’re still very happy we won the bronze.”
Frigoni, who started handling the squad last year before catching the world’s attention in the last FIVB, knew that the expectations were high. But he also knew that their impressive run didn’t mean they would win it all in the SEA Games, as teams like Thailand and Indonesia were tested programs standing in the way.
The Thais would eventually end the three-edition reign of the Indonesians.
“Everybody is expecting (that) after World Championship, we can beat everybody,” Frigoni said.
“But every competition has [its] own story. We were good in this competition. We were not perfect in the World Championship and we were not so bad here. We were not like [in] the World Championship, but we were not so bad,” the Italian coach added. “In this SEA Games, we play for a medal. In the World Championship, we didn’t play for a medal. We didn’t have any pressure there.”
For now, he has his eyes on the Thais, whom he holds in high regard.
“Against Thailand, we never won. Never,” he said. “In the two years that I have been here, we have won just one competition against them. It’s (going to take) a long way to beat Thailand. It’s not just tomorrow. It’s not because we beat Vietnam today. It’s still a long way.
“Now, to find new players, to put something here in this team. I already have something in mind,” he added.
Setter Owa Retamar was happy with the bronze, the country’s sixth in SEA Games men’s volleyball and first podium finish since the 2019 silver medal during his first year as a national player.
“I was really happy because all our games were tough,” Retamar said. “We had lapses and we know each of us had shortcomings. We also know our team isn’t as solid as the World Championship team for this SEA Games, but we’re still happy.”
