EIGHT years after first stepping onto the Asian Games stage in Indonesia, Jia de Guzman is preparing to return with a different perspective.
Back then, she was one of the players taking in the sheer level of volleyball awaiting the Philippines.
This time, de Guzman heads to Aichi-Nagoya as Alas Pilipinas captain, carrying not just the responsibility of leading a new group, but also a clearer understanding of what the national team must go through before it can truly belong among Asia's strongest.
READ: Bagunas, de Guzman lead Alas rosters in POC list for Asian Games
The upcoming Asiad will offer another measuring stick for the Filipinas, but de Guzman is refusing to let one tournament define a program she believes is only beginning to take shape.
“In terms of expectations, we're very grounded in the small goals that we have to achieve to become the great team that we can be. Pero siyempre, we have to go through these small steps, this process na I'm sure a lot of the strong international teams went through also," de Guzman said.
“Nandito pa kami sa start eh, ng journey namin, and we have to be very patient talaga. Kung manalo kami, good. Kung matalo kami, okay lang din kasi it's necessary for us to go through this process.”
That patience, de Guzman said, comes from understanding how the teams Alas hopes to eventually challenge reached their current level, from group stage foes China and Kazakhstan to a neighbor emerging as a global power in Olympic-bound Thailand.
As evidenced by these powerhouse nations, even the biggest breakthroughs are often preceded by years of falling short.
“For example lang, yung recent win ng Thailand against China, that's a very big win, but they went through so many losses against teams that they couldn't beat before. Pero kasi, para matuto silang manalo in that stage, they had to go through difficult periods. Kami, we know we have to go through that also," she said.
“That's why we are thinking for a long-term program para madaanan namin lahat ng kailangan naming matutunan.”
No losses, just lessons
For that reason, Aichi-Nagoya is as much a classroom as it is a competition.
The Asian Games will once again put the Philippines in front of some of the continent's most formidable volleyball nations, giving its national team a rare chance to see firsthand the standard it is trying to reach.
De Guzman remembers exactly what that felt like in 2018.
“It's always an honor to represent the country. Bawat opportunity naman na makukuha namin, we really want to play our best. I still remember that time when we got to represent in the Asian Games eight years ago in Indonesia, I remember," she recalled.
"Ang lalakas talaga ng mga kalaban du’n, so we're very excited with the level of volleyball that we'll be exposed to there. Everyone's just very optimistic and excited to play.”
The opportunity is especially significant because the Asiad does not come around every year, making every appearance one the national team has to maximize.
And for De Guzman, one of the senior figures in the group, there is another responsibility waiting beyond the court.
Several of the players around her will be experiencing the Asian Games for the first time. The captain hopes the lessons she and fellow veteran Dawn Catindig have picked up from previous international campaigns can help make the transition easier.
“It's great kasi siyempre, we don't know when we will get another chance to play in the Asian Games, so we want to make the most of that opportunity. With the international experience that Dawn and I have, ita-try namin 'yung best namin i-guide ‘yung mga young players na first time din maglaro du’n," she said.
Eight years after she was among those absorbing the lessons of the Asiad for herself, de Guzman is now helping the next generation do the same.
And somewhere beyond Aichi-Nagoya, she hopes those lessons will eventually add up to something much bigger for Philippine volleyball.
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