PHU LY, Vietnam – The competition may be tough, but Petron remains firm on its mission to come up with a respectable finish in the 2015 AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship which formally unwrapped late Saturday at the newly built Ha Nam Competition Hall here.
The Blaze Spikers – queens of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix last year – marched to their morning training in high spirits, eager to wage war against the finest club teams in Asia for a chance to advance to the FIVB World Women’s Club Championship next year.
They were still playing the taller, more experienced 4.25 Sports Club of North Korea as of press time.
An upset victory over the North Koreans will surely boost Petron’s momentum entering its game against the tough Islamic Azad University of Iran on Monday, two-time champion Hisamitsu Seiyaku Springs of Japan on Tuesday and powerhouse Zhejiang of China on Wednesday to wrap up its classification matches.
In the previous edition of this tourney in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand last year, the Philippines, represented by PLDT and reinforced by Misao Tanyama of Japan and Regla Bell of Cuba, emerged eighth out of 10 competitors. Hisamitsu Springs of Japan took the crown while Tianjin Bohai Bank of China and Zhetyssu Taldykorgan of Kazakhstan claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
“That’s how tough this competition is,” said Petron coach George Pascua.
“But we will try our very best to surpass the finish of the Philippines last year. I am confident with my team. Our core players have been playing together for almost two years and we’re just tweaking some plays to accommodate our new player, Abby (Marano), as well as our imports (Rupia Inck Furtado and Erica Adachi).”
Pascua added that they have been working on some plays that will take away the height advantage of the opponents. Although he refused to reveal it, it is quite obvious that they will employ more backrow attacks to add more fire and unpredictability on their offensive setups.
“This is an elite tournament. Everybody prepared something to get ahead of the competition,” he said. “We will carefully study them in the first set. Kumbaga sa boxing, jab-jab muna. Then, kapag nakita na natin ang weakness ng kalaban, saka tayo aatake.”
Also tipped to carry the cudgels for the Blaze Spikers are Rachel Anne Daquis, Dindin Manabat, Ces Molina, Fille Cayetano, Jen Reyes, Acy Masangkay, Mina Aganon, Mayette Zapanta, Aia del Mundo and skipper Maica Morada.