Alas Pilipinas is emerging from the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship with a much better idea of what it can become.
The girls are still discovering new dimensions to its game even as its breakthrough campaign comes to a close with Megan Hernandez, Jello Mauricio and Jhenica Sadia, who had seen varying amounts of court time, combining with established scorers Xyz Rayco and Caera Celis to give Alas Pilipinas a different look on offense.
The process had been tough for the recently-reassembled squad, but team manager Karl Chan believes the experience will ultimately make the team better.
‘What matters is that we learn from every game and use those lessons to get better,’ Chan said. ‘Alas Pilipinas has played well despite having so little time to build chemistry.’
‘This team had been together for only about a week before we left for Chile, while you can see that the other teams have had much more time to play and develop together,’ he added.
The latest discovery came in the rematch against Venezuela on Saturday as Mauricio helped provide the needed third-set spark on the right side-the 14-year-old lefty finishing with nine points for her biggest output in the championship.
Hernandez and Sadia also came up with timely contributions in that stretch, although the Philippines’s comeback bid ultimately fell short, 22-25, 15-25, 25-20, 22-25.
Whether those discoveries will translate to another competitive performance will be tested against No. 22 Czechia in the battle for 15th place on Sunday at Parque Estadio Nacional.
Czechia is coming off a five-set loss to Peru and will also try to finish with a flourish.
Still the best finish for Alas
THE Alas Pilipinas Girls have learned that having the firepower to upset some of the best and being prepared to sustain that level in the demanding grind of a world championship are two entirely different things.
Coach Edwin Leyva and the rest of the coaching staff reminded the Alas Pilipinas Girls that they have done what nobody saw coming by reaching the Round of 16-on the strength of victories over No. 8 Mexico and No 20 Tunisia-and that the losses that followed, also against higher-rated foes, don’t diminish what they had accomplished. By making the Round of 16, this Alas Pilipinas squad has achieved the best finish ever by a Philippine volleyball team in any world championship.
The Bryan Bagunas-led squad fell just short of the Round of 16 in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship last year in the Philippines, while a team placed 18th in the 1974 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship in Mexico.
Entering the tournament No. 25 in the world, the Philippines is the second-lowest-ranked team in the 24-team field, ahead of only No. 27 Spain.
Alas Pilipinas Girls-backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Asics-have punched well above their weight.
They were determined to turn the tables on Venezuela after losing in five sets in pool play, and even had the edge in blocks, 7-5, and serves, 11-7, in Saturday’s playoff. But the young Filipinas couldn’t match Venezuela’s attacking output, with the South Americans dominating, 59-45.
Rayco, the top scorer for the Philippine team that earned its place in this world championship through the Asian Volleyball Confederation U16 Championship, showed the way for Alas with 15 points on 11 attacks, three aces and a block.
Caera Celis continued her solid play and scored 14 on 13 attacks and a block. Megan Hernandez delivered five points and Jhenica Sadia added three.
Amanda Estefania Pacheco Gonzalez led Venezuela with 17 points, while Colina Lezama Yalesca Lileagne scored 15.
The USA reached the final without dropping a set, sweeping aside No. 1 and defending champion China, 25-13, 25-15, 25-19.
Turkiye earned the other spot in the title match after defeating Chinese Taipei, 25-15, 25-22, 25-22.