The Philippines returns to Asian Games women’s volleyball action on Sunday against a familiar foe that tormented many a national team in the past — Thailand.
The Philippines-Thailand match is set at 1:30 p.m. at the Bulungan Sports Hall inside the sprawling main hub of competitions of the 18th edition of the Games, the Gelora Bung Karno complex.
So dominating are the Thais that the last time a Philippine team beat them was in 1993, in the gold-medal match of the Singapore SEA Games.
But Philippine volleyball was never the same again after that, while the Thais frolicked with 11 straight SEA Games crowns.
It was only in 2005 that the Philippines made a dent of sorts by claiming bronze in the 2005 SEA Games the country hosted.
During the last match between the two nations, Thailand was dominant – taking a 21-25, 14-25, 20-25 victory during the 2017 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Experience, perhaps, would be the most the volleybelles could gain from these games, as Thailand is not the only team the Filipinas have to be worried about.
Japan, China, Korea, and even host Indonesia all have superior skills in the sport.
For head coach Shaq de los Santos, facing the Thais will never be easy. But the excitement generates a gauge of where Philippine women’s volleyball really stands amid the popularity of the sport back home.
“We’re very excited to play them because they are the gold standard in Asian volleyball,” said Delos Santos, whose wards are coming off a two-week training in Okayama and Osaka, Japan.
“We improved, yes. But of course, we’re still in the process of developing the chemistry and character of the team. We know it’s not an overnight process, but we need tough competitions like this to develop it.”
After Thailand, the Philippines clash with Japan on Tuesday, Hongkong on Thursday, and Indonesia on Saturday.
Delos Santos reiterated that their goal is not really to win the gold medal, but to come up with a strong performance to gain experience and build momentum for the 30th Southeast Asian Games, which the country will host next year.
“This kind of exposure is very valuable to our goal of coming up with a podium finish in the SEA Games next year,” said Delos Santos, who vows his team will play their hearts out in their first Asian Games appearance since the 1982 edition in New Delhi.
“We waited for a very long time to make it back to the Asian Games so we might as well give everything we’ve got. We trained hard for this. We’re ready.”
Alyssa Valdez and team captain Aby Marano will lead the campaign together with star players Jaja Santiago, Mika Reyes, Kim Fajardo and Dawn Macandili, the second best libero in Asia.
Also in the squad are Mylene Paat, Cha Cruz-Behag, Jia Morado, Dindin Manabat, Kianna Dy and Majoy Baron.
Denden Lazaro and Maika Ortiz are also with the squad but were listed as reserves.
