Alas Pilipinas clashes with heavily favored Vietnam at FIVB Challenger Cup
ALAS PILIPINAS team captain Jia de Guzman has tempered expectations on their chances against a heavily favored Vietnam and in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Challenger Cup that came off the wraps at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Thursday.
But deep inside the soft-spoken and courageous skipper and the rest of Nationals, they all dream of the same big dream — punch a ticket straight to the Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) main group next year.
And it starts Friday when they square off with the Vietnamese, who swept and dominated last month’s AVC Challenge Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum where the Filipinas snatched a historic bronze, at 6:30 p.m. “Well, all we can ask the girls is to do its best while not putting pressure on the team that much,” said the charismatic Alas team leader.
The team lost power spiker Eya Laure and libero Jen Nierva and were replaced by Creamline’s Jema Galanza and National University’s Bella Belen. Ms. Belen’s teammate, Alyssa Solomon, and Ms. Galanza’s fellow Creamline star, Tots Carlos, were enlisted into the pool but will not be able to join due to undisclosed reasons.
“It’s great to have new reinforcements in the pool. Experience-wise,” said Ms. De Guzman of Mmess. Galanza and Belen.
Intriguingly, Ms. Nierva’s last-minute withdrawal left the squad with one legitimate libero in Dawn Catindig.
Cherry Nunag was listed as the team’s second libero but, in essence, she’s a natural middle blocker. The other members of the team are Faith Nisperos, Fifi Sharma, Vannie Gandler, Julia Coronel, Angel Canino, Dell Palomata, Arah Panique, Thea Gagate and Sisi Rondina.
The trek to that VNL dream is long and arduous though as Alas Pilipinas would need to win all its games against Vietnam, the semis and eventually the finals, assuming it could make it that far, to realize it. — Joey Villar