Jakarta – The Philippines finally got to pick on its own size as it whipped Hong Kong, barging into the win column with a 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 victory in the women’s volleyball competition of the 18th Asian Games at the Gor Bulungan Stadium here Thursday.
Alyssa Valdez delivered 10 kills and four aces to finish with 14 points while Jaja Santiago chipped in 12 markers as the nationals launched a strong run in the opening set and ripped the game wide open for their first win in three matches.
Mika Reyes, Majoy Baron, and Dawn Macandili, on the other hand, formed a defensive wall that denied the HK tossers’ repeated comebacks.
So dominant were the Filipina belles that they ruled the attack department, 45-37, had more blocks, 7-1, and service aces, 11-3.
The performance was a far cry from their showing against super powers Thailand and Japan in their first two lost matches.
“We were sluggish in our past two games,” said head coach Shaq Delos Santos, admitting that the Thais and the Japanese were too much for them to handle.
“But every time we talk, we discuss positive things. We know the capabilities of the team and we know that we can win here. Although we still need to improve, we’re very optimistic that we can pull it through,” he said.
The win may have secured the Filipinos a quarterfinal seat in Group A, where they will have to contend with again with powerhouse Japan and Thailand, plus Indonesia in Group A.
In Group B, cinch to make it are China, Korea, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam.
Delos wants to punctuate their preliminaries campaign with an emphatic win over the Indonesians, a team powered by the hard-spiking Aprilia Manganang, on Saturday.
“I hope we can be solid and perform better against the Indonesians. I told the players that you know yourselves and you know what you’re capable of. Just work hard and everything will follow,” said Delos Santos.
The last time the Filipinos won in the women’s volleyball competition of the Asian Games as in the New Delhi edition in 1982 with Vangie de Jesus and Fe Mejia serving as key players under the Project: Gintong Alay program of Michael Keon.
The Philippines beat India, 15-9, 15-9, 15-2, in the classification round.
Skipper Yeung Sau Mei delivered 15 points while Ching Wing Yan added 10 markers for the young Hong Kong squad that showed tremendous improvement and a lot of promises despite the sorry setback.