SORRY, I’m not talking about the fight. As I have to write this hours before Manny Pacquiao faced Floyd Mayweather, I have to write about something else. This is about one of the greatest wins recorded by a Philippine team, and it happened in volleyball.
Years ago, when Mandaue City hosted the FIVB Asian Girls Under 16 championship, I saw how the Philippines fared and saw how we were light-years behind. Not only could we not win a set, we can’t even prepare right.
China, the favorite in the tournament, did everything right. And guess what the Chinese girls did when they were watching, scouting the teams they would be facing? They had their notebooks on, and they were all businesslike, taking notes against teams they’d easily sweep aside.
The Philippine team? They were so busy talking that I don’t think they ever saw a complete play of the team they were supposed to be scouting.
So in all the brouhaha concerning the hosting of the Asian U23 in Manila, from the trouble of which NSA to recognize, to the struggle in the formation of the national team, my only wish was that our girls U23 wouldn’t be so embarrassed at home soil that all things volleyball would stop.
That’s what happened the last time we hosted an international tournament. We lost so miserably that the folks who witnessed those games started thinking, hey, the international arena is not for us.
Not only were we not able to compete, the home team played so badly that the home crowd started picking favorites among the visiting team.
I remember one player from Taiwan, a sub, got rock star treatment that in her final game, she had to be escorted by a squad of policeman from and to the team bus.
We were that bad.
So, in the Asian U23 women’s volleyball championships, my expectations were modest. Don’t lose too badly.
And in the first game in the U23 against Iran, we lost, in four sets, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20. But you know what was the difference between that loss and all those losses in that U16 tournament a decade ago? We were in it.
By god, I never imagined that we could go toe-to-toe against the Asian giants. Those girls, even if they lost, were in the fight! The first two sets were close and they showed they weren’t intimidated against the tall Iranians.
Next up was Kazakhstan, a country ranked No. 19 in the world, and the Philippine team, assembled only three weeks before the tournament, shocked the taller and more experienced squad, 25-19, 25-11, 28-26.
And this year’s squad, which has Cebuana Gretchel Soltones among them, showed it can handle the pressure. After getting five match points at 24-19, the visitors fought back at 24-all. Coach Roger Gorayeb used his final two timeouts in that run, and emphasized the need to relax.
The girls finally did, closing the match with a signature drop that seemed to puzzle the Kazakhs all game long. And just like that, we nabbed our first international win in god knows how-long.
What changed? I don’t know. In the years since that embarrassing FIVB Girls hosting, we’ve had the Shakey’s V-League and the Superliga, plus the level of competition in the UAAP has turned up a notch.
Just some of the factors why there was infighting in the volleyball NSA—there’s money in the sport.
Now, we have a new NSA and a women’s volleyball team that’s worthy of being called the national team.
And judging from that win against Kazakhstan, these girls aren’t intimidated by anybody, despite the odds.
(mikelimpag@gmail.com)