Jakarta—Determined to put its two straight losses to powerhouse teams behind, the Philippine women’s volleyball team goes all out against Hong Kong in the preliminaries today at 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. in Manila) in the women’s volleyball competitions of the 18th Asian Games at the Bulungan Sports Hall here.
The PH volleybelles have beaten the HK tossers several times in the past, but head coach Shaq Delos Santos and his wards vow to never let their guard down in the game which he says “they can’t afford to lose” as it stakes a ticket in the quarterfinals.
The Philippines’ latest win against HK came in the form of a 25-21, 25-16, 25-17 victory in the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Championship last year, a triumph Delos Santos would like to repeat today.
“We were studying them and it’s very obvious that they have greatly improved,” said Delos Santos, adding that Hong Kong is already entering the crucial stretch of its three-year rebuilding program.
“These players, whom we used to easily beat before, have already matured and developed. They have been together for the past three years. We have to be at our best against them if we want to make it to the next round.”
And while the volleybelles suffered humiliating setbacks to favorites Thailand and Japan, Delos Santos still believes that they still have enough to hurdle over Hong Kong and Indonesia for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.
“We’re coming off two opponents with very high level of volleyball. And so the game against Hong Kong is a must-win for us,” said Delos Santos. “This is the game where we will go all-out. Everybody in the team knows it. This is the game we’ve all been waiting for.”
Middle blockers Mika Reyes and Aby Marano, together with liberos Dawn Macandili and Denden Lazaro are expected to form a defensive wall against the HK bets, with the help of playmakers Kim Fajardo and Jia Morado and bench players Dindin Manabat, Maika Ortiz, Cha Cruz-Behag and Majoy Baron.
“After getting experience from our matches against Thailand and Japan, we are ready to go to the “real battle” against Hong Kong tomorrow,” Marano said.
