Inexperienced Power Pinoys due for cellar finish

MANILA, Philippines – The PLDT Home TVolution Philippines will finish not better than seventh place when the 2014 Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship presented by PLDT Home Fibr at the MOA Arena in Pasay City comes to a close Wednesday.

It's an accomplishment good enough, but the Power Pinoys still will have a long way to go before becoming at par with the best in the region.

"The Philippines should hire a professional coach," said South Gas Club Sports Iraq coach Alaa Khalaf Abdul Sa when asked during the customary post-match press briefing on what ails Phl volleyball.

On Tuesday, Abdul Sa and his super-charged team demolished an inexperienced and perhaps ill-prepared Phl squad, 25-17, 25-21, 25-21, a repeat of the former's 25-22, 25-19, 25-18 win in the group stages last week.

Abdul Sa also mocked the Phl's style of play, saying its "plays are for girls."

The Iraqi was referring to the Phl's running attack, which no country employs anymore.

Vicente, of course, was a former coach of multi-titled high school girls team Santo Tomas that included Alyssa Valdez and Dindin Santiago among others and National U Lady Bulldogs before accepting the national men's team duties.

Interestingly, it was also Abdul Sa who belittled the Filipinos after saying the Altain Bars Mongolia was better than the Phl even though the host country beat the former and finished better.

For Vicente, he rued his team's porous defense as the main cause of their hasty downfall.

"I kept telling them in the dugout that defense help us win this match. But we have some lapses especially on our floor defense," said Vicente.

The Phl will play Zahraa Al Minaa Lebanon at 10 a.m. Wednesday another relegation match with the winner clinching seventh place and the loser eighth.

The Lebanese fell to the Chinese Taipei national team, 25-12, 25-23, 25-17.

The Taiwanese will play Iraq, which finished a strong fifth in last year's staging of this annual tournament staking a lone berth to the World Club Championship in Brazil next month, at 12 noon for fifth spot.

This event is being supported by Mikasa, Healthway Medical, Maynilad, Gerflor Spurway, Senoh Equipment, STI, PSC, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto and MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino.