EXPERIENCE - or the lack of it - was evident in the Philippine men's floorball team's 14-4 loss to Thailand in the 30th Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday.
"It was a tough start. We weren't really prepared," said Lucas Oijvall Perez after the home team dropped to a 1-1 (win-loss) record and found itself in danger of missing the gold-medal match.
"We were second or third on the ball and they took advantage of the chances they got," he added.
The Philippines found itself in an early 3-0 hole at the seventh minute and faced a 6-1 deficit after the first period.
Things only got worse from there as Alexander Rinefalk set up Pawat Thaidit in the 41st minute to make it a 12-1 Thailand lead.
Only a gritty stand in the third period that saw Christian Schoultze, Aristeo Perol II, and Perez score late goals gave the home crowd a reason to be happy.
The 31-year-old defender admitted that the packed crowd inside UP CHK Gym gave the Filipinos a lift even when the result looked far beyond doubt.
"We showed a lot of puso in the third period. It was really nice to see a lot of players improve a lot," said Perez.
"I started to cry in the third period because everybody was so intense and I couldn't hold my feelings in. It means everything. We were down and it's so hard, then we heard them and we had to fight for them as well. That helped us a lot."
Dire as the Philippine team's situation may be, Perez isn't losing hope in a sport that is a cross between ice hockey and netball.
And even though they face powerhouse Singapore on Thursday, he knows that his team has no other option but to bring their A-game in their remaining matches.
"I think we need to recover and we need to bring the good things from this game," said Perez. "We're playing a tough team, a physical team as well as technical. We know they're a good team, but it's a team game sport and we can still win. We just have to be more precise and lessen our errors."
"I have to be optimistic. I think we can win. Smaller teams have won against bigger teams and I'm optimistic, but we have to do it all the way."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
