Alas Pilipinas during a game against Thailand in the AVC Challenge Cup in Bahrain.–AVC PHOTO
The Alas Pilipinas men’s team ended its Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup campaign not in the way it was hoping for, but with faith that the Filipinos can be better moving forward.
Alas finished 10th after a 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20 loss to Southeast Asian power Thailand Friday night in Manama, Bahrain, teaching the Nationals valuable lessons and spurring team leader, setter Joshua Retamar, to strive harder.
“We fell short because we [only had] a short time [in] training,” Retamar said after the disappointing finish. “We will come back stronger.”
National team coach Sergio Veloso also knows that it won’t be an easy task for Alas to compete against the incredible talent in the AVC tournament as the Filipinos won just once, against a young Indonesian crew, and lost in straight sets to world No. 31 China and Bahrain.
The matchup against Thailand was also not an easy task because the Thais were also determined not to slide down in the classification after failing to defend its AVC crown. Khonhan Amornthep pelted the Philippine defense with 30 points, with Marck Espejo and Jade Disquitado leading Alas with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
“We need to raise our level to be able to beat the top teams in the world,” Veloso told the Inquirer. “[But] this is not that simple.
Regional level
“Currently, our level is regional. There are several factors that make a national team reach a higher level: More quality training time, many international games with strong teams and above all, have the involvement and support of the entire Philippine volleyball community,” he added.
After some rest, Alas can build on the gains from playing tough sides in the AVC, where Veloso’s charges gained valuable international experience while playing “very good matches.”
Veloso also said that he will finalize plans with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation on what tournaments to compete in.
“We need to build our communication, our pattern in blockings and in our attack,” Retamar said.
“It was [still] a good run. The AVC is a strong competition … We maintained our position from last year and played at a higher level,” Veloso said.