Back-to-back PVL champion Creamline indeed showed “good vibes” in their first game as the Philippine women’s national team in the 2022 PNVF AVC Cup for Women despite a tough loss against Vietnam in three sets, 19-25, 17-25, 29-31, Sunday afternoon.
A huge part of that gallant stand is long-time libero Kyla Atienza, who keep the Philippines afloat — literally, in the rallies, and figuratively, in the game, as she guarded the floor well for the Nationals.
And after one hour and 41 minutes, the crowd made sure the Far Eastern University product knew she did a great job as shouts of “Kyla! Kyla!” echoed inside the Philsports Arena.
Atienza was just happy to have helped her team’s efforts in the battle.
“Sobrang proud. Sobrang happy ko lang sa loob ng court kasi lumaban po kami kahit na hindi kami ganung kakumpleto kasi alam naman po talaga namin yung bonding namin as a team,” said the 2019 PVL Open Conference Best Libero.
The Philippines went out on strong starts in the first two sets, only to succumb to errors midway into the said frames en route to conceding them to the Vietnamese. However, despite these miscues, the Nationals just returned to their core and just brought out their inherent chemistry being a single club team as well.
“Siguro, ang inisip ko lang po talaga kasi is mag-enjoy lang sa game, kasi nga parang mas kailangan po ako ng team ngayon, dahil nga po medyo maraming pinagdadaanan ngayon yung team so kailangan po namin mag step-up,” the 25-year-old defensive specialist said.
With the home crowd getting into the action, especially in that third set run, the Philippines threatened to extend the match after getting two set points. Vietnam, though, with its captain Tran Thi Thanh Thuy manning the front line, eventually stopped the hometown bets on their tracks and won the match in three.
Nonetheless, Atienza knew they gave the fans inside the Arena their money’s worth with their fight back against the regional rivals.
“Sobrang nakakaproud. Sobrang nakakataba po ng puso, lalo na pagnakikita namin yung mga fans na nag-checheer po. Sobrang masaya po ako ngayon,” she said.
“Masaya po, kasi lumalaban po kami eh. And sobrang masaya din po ako sa pinerform namin as a team.”
With rookie jitters out of the way for most of her teammates, and her especially, Atienza is now ready to keep anchoring the Philippines in its next games in the Cup.
“Sobrang galing po nila, and sobrang… for me it was a good experience din po and exposure na makalaro ng ibang bansa po.”
—
Catch the best volleyball players in the continent on SMART GigaPlay. Download it here.
#AVConGigaplay
