A STOMACH illness held Alyssa Valdez to her worst performance in the 30th Southeast Asian Games women's volleyball competition.
Valdez saw action the whole first set but played sparingly in the last three frames as the Nationals fell to Indonesia, 25-22, 26-28, 22-25, 14-25, on Saturday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
She finished two points as Philippines finished the preliminary round with a 0-3 record.
Skipper Aby Marano said that the national team mainstay has been experiencing stomach pain since Thursday’s loss to Thailand as she slumped to her lowest scoring output in her three SEA Games appearances.
“Tiyan. Nag-aacid. Game pa ng Thailand, habang naglalaro. Sadya talaga siyang nag-aacid. May history na siya,” said Marano on Valdez.
The three-time UAAP MVP, who averaged 18 points in the past two games, also declined to join the post-game interviews for the second straight game.
Wing spikers Mylene Paat and Ces Molina filled in the void left by Valdez against Indonesia with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Teen Eya Laure played extended minutes adding seven markers.
“Di rin natin gustong pwersahin siya. Ang importante sa amin, di man siya makalaro, kung sino yung papalit sa kanya,“ said Marano. “Di naman pwedeng nahihirapan na yung player tapos pipilitin at lalong lumala yung karamdaman.”
“Pero ang maganda naman, nandiyan si Alyssa. Pinipilit niya kahit may nararamdaman siyang masakit,” she added.
The whole national squad and home fans are praying that Valdez would be back in 100 percent form in their bronze medal game against Indonesia on Monday.
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