ALAS Pilipinas Women head coach Jorge Souza de Brito chose to find silver linings after a 17–25, 14–25, 17–25 loss to Vietnam in the women’s volleyball semifinals of the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Sunday.
“It’s not just about the result, but about the consistency that we want. It’s not yet there, but they did good. Our team did good, but they did better than us, so it’s kind of a win,” de Brito said.
READ Alas bound for bronze medal match after bowing to Vietnam
“It’s competition always. If they did better than us, even if we played really good. we have to accept this and learn from it.”
While the setback extends the Philippines’ gold medal wait in the event to 28 years, de Brito remains focused on one final opportunity to still bring something home, with Alas Women set to face Indonesia in the battle for bronze.
“Our chance is tomorrow. We didn’t come here just to play one day. We came to play every single day, but our target is to bring home something,” the 59-year-old Brazilian coach said.
“That something is not only about how we fight tomorrow. We have to adjust our team, and I’m convinced we can do better than this, so I don’t have any problem with that for tomorrow.”
The straight-set losses to regional heavyweights Thailand and Vietnam, however, also highlighted the gap that still separates the Philippines from Asia’s elite.
And for de Brito, closing that distance will take time, sustained exposure and long-term commitment.
“These teams, they play at a different level. They played in the World Championship. That consistency comes with how many times you get exposure at a high level, and we’re getting there,” de Brito explained.
“When you play at a higher level, you push yourself to be on the same level so you can play with them. That’s what happened. We always have to bring our team to its best level to compete against them.
“That’s the difference when you compare our national team with others who have more exposure.”
Echoing captain Jia de Guzman’s earlier sentiments, de Brito stressed that Alas Women have competed with “absolute heart” through three matches in the biennial meet.
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