Alas Pilipinas seeks to make more history by reaching the championship game of the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women on Tuesday when they square off against Kazakhstan at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
The team made the semis after sweeping the preliminaries to top Pool A with a 4-0 record.
For head coach Jorge Souza de Brito, the Nationals need to once again give their all and put their hearts into overcoming the taller Kazakhs in the 7:00 PM knockout semifinals match.
“Wow, tough game. It will be a tough game,” said the Brazilian tactician on Sunday evening after their win against Chinese Taipei that sealed the pool sweep.
“All of us have to handle the challenge in the coming days, because we start from zero now. It is one win, and another one,” reminded De Brito, knowing that this is the knockout stage already.
“It is 50-50. We are home, but they have formed their team for a long time now. Let us play with heart.”
Strategy and tactics-wise, the Philippines is ready against Kazakhstan, which finished second in Pool B with a 3-1 record, only losing to the defending champion Vietnam.
Even a day before closing out the group stage against the Taiwanese squad, he and his coaching staff were already hard at work preparing for the next round as Alas clinched a ticket to the semis on Saturday after winning against Iran.
“We already strategized against Kazakhstan. Since yesterday we have been planning what we should do. The players are already aware of that; now we just have to put it into action,” said De Brito, who is looking to go out with a bang.
The Philippines is aiming to earn a medal in international women’s volleyball for the first time since bagging bronze in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.
For captain-setter Jia De Guzman, who steered the team to greater heights, the experience of facing tall teams in their pool – such as Australia and India – will certainly be a big help against Kazakhstan.
Libero Dawn Catindig shared that sweeping Pool A will surely give them the much-needed confidence for the semifinals.
“Kazakhstan is a very strong team, very tall also. So medyo nakaranas naman kami ng matangkad at malakas na teams in our bracket, and ine-expect namin bukas sa training na ‘yung paghahandaan namin with coach Jorge,” said De Guzman after their straight-sets conquest of Chinese Taipei.
“Siguro sa lahat ng nakalaban na namin, it’s gaining experience for the team and siyempre ‘yung confidence sa bawat isa na ma-instill na kaya namin ‘yung mga kalaban namin,” remarked Catindig.
The last time the two countries met on the Taraflex, the Kazakhs got the better of the Filipinos, 25-21, 17-25, 24-26, 27-25, 15-6, in the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in 2023.
That Philippine team was composed of National University core players led by Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and Vange Alinsug, along with other UAAP players.
Kazakhstan team captain Sana Anarkulova was part of that squad and remembers it clearly, making their match-up more exciting.
“The Philippine team is always strong. I remember the last time we played and we won 3-2. I think it’ll be interesting,” said Anarkulova.
Vietnam and Australia are the teams in the other semifinals pairing.
