MANILA,Philippines — The Philippine women’s volleyball squad may have lost a vital piece in Kalei Mau on the same day it absorbed a reality check at the hands top Japanese squad University of Tsukuba but coach Shaq delos Santos opted to stick to positives to keep their focus locked on the nearing SEA Games.
Mau was deemed ineligible for the upcoming biennial meet due to residency issues, putting a massive dent on the national team roster that has been training with the Fil-am sensation the past few months.
Her absence for the SEA Games was just the latest setback for the Nationals whose other top guns in twin towers Jaja Santiago and Dindin Santiago-Manabat together with Alohi Robins-Hardy were also ruled unavailable to suit up. The Santiago sisters have prior commitments to their Japanese ballclubs while Hardy also did not make it due to lack of necessary local documents.
Minus Mau, who sat out the Phl belles’ gold medal match due to a minor injury, they went on to drop a 13-25, 21-25, 19-25 defeat to Tsukuba to settle for the silver medal in the PSL Super Cup that served as their last tournament before the SEA Games set Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.