Mentally ready.
That is how Alas Pilipinas women’s coach Taka Minowa sees his team as they face a dreaded China side with hopes of a miracle at the start of the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games volleyball competitions Wednesday at the Okazaki Sogo Park Gym in Japan.
‘We are mentally ready to face the Chinese. We’ll try our very best,’ said Minowa, a Japanese who is also the husband to Sachi Minowa or Jaja Santiago.
The Filipinas though will go into their 1 p.m. China duel (Manila time) as the complete underdogs, with the Chinese expected to the vent their ire on the former after being recently denied a gold in the AVC Continental Cup in Tianjin, China and a spot to the 2028 LA Olympics.
While Alas is hoping and praying for a shocker, it can, however, afford to lose this one and advance to the quarterfinals if they can turn back Kazakhstan in their Pool B duel Thursday.
The top two in each of the four brackets will advance to the quarters and the Nationals hope they would be the ones to that.
Alas will be bannered by Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, Eya Laure and Angel Canino, while the other members of the squad are Niña Ytang, Mars Alba, Justine Jazareno, Dell Palomata, Amie Provido, Thea Gagate, Jia de Guzman and Shania Nitura.
Alas is hoping to replicate, if not eclipse, the Philippines’ best finish in the quadrennial games in the sport at fourth in the 1962 Jakarta edition.