Pinay spikers savor 6th place

MANILA, Philippines — On National Heroes Day, the gutsy Filipinas displayed heroism worthy of a place in local volleyball folklore.

The Nationals delivered their proudest moment in Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup (AVC) history by finishing sixth. It was the country’s best effort in the biennial meet.

Never mind that the host nation fell to an Asian power in Chinese Taipei, 28-26, 25-21, 25-21, in the battle for fifth place before an animated Filipino crowd who trooped the PhilSports Arena yesterday.

What mattered was they have proven worthy of representing the country despite the many challenges they faced – from fatigue, to lack of time to prepare, a missed game by coach Sherwin Meneses and captain Jia de Guzman due to health protocols and the absence of its heart and soul Alyssa Valdez due to dengue.

The Filipinas, represented by reigning Premier Volleyball League Invitational titlist Creamline, proved their doubters wrong as they surpassed the ninth-place finish in the 2018 edition in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

“Even if its just sixth place, the players did their best and we’re thankful of this opportunity,” said Meneses.

They left it all on the court in a dramatic, come-from-behind 21-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-18, 15-12 win over the taller Australians the night before.

So spent was the team that Ced Domingo was the unlikely scoring leader with 12 points as Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao, the top three scorers entering this game, finished with seven, eight and nine hits, respectively.