MARCK Espejo is pleased to deliver a solid performance with the Philippine men's volleyball team in front of a crowd of 6,700 at the Philsports Arena, and made an appeal to fans for continued support as they go for the SEA Games gold.
“Swerte namin kasi nandyan sila, napanood nila ang history pero yun nga hindi pa tapos,” Espejo told reporters on Sunday.
Assured of silver after getting past titleholder Thailand after five grueling sets, the Philippines tries to take the dream run a step further on Tuesday day as it battles Indonesia for the title at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“Ako personally pagpasok ko pa lang sa arena, sa court, napa-wow ako sa crowd kasi sobrang dami. Di namin ini-expect na ganoon karami ang manonood, na susuporta at magcheer para sa amin,” Espejo said.
The huge victory got #MensVolleyball trending on Twitter, and coach Dante Alinsunurin is hoping the semifinal victory and the coming finals result will further boost men’s volleyball in the country.
“Sobrang tuwa kasi eto naman talaga yung hinihingi namin dati pa. Simula pa lang, sabi namin sana kami naman yung mapanood ng maraming tao. Para makilala naman kami,” Alinsunurin said.
The National University coach is also glad the players are proving their worth on the big stage, finally gaining a crowd after drawing very few spectators in the preliminaries.
“Sabi nga namin nung first game, meron na tayong dumagdag na 12 persons. Second game, nanalo tayo, meron tayong 13 persons. Sabi ko tuluy-tuloy lang tayo, malay niyo sa third game natin, magiging 20 na yan. Yun lang lagi ginagawa namin,” the coach said sharing a laughter with his players and reporters. “Pero yun nga, nagpapasalamat kami sa mga tao na sumusuporta samin at nanood ngayon dito. Siyempre marami ring nanood sa TV at sa mga cellphone.”
“Sana magtuluy-tuloy na yung gusto ng men’s team sa Pilipinas na makilala naman kami at sabihin nating tumaas yung level ng laro ng mga lalaki sa Pilipinas,” he added.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph