BINAN, Laguna — Philippine ace Alyssa Valdez held her head high even after the national team fell short in its bid to finish seventh in the 19th AVC Asian Women’s Senior Championship on Thursday at Alonte Sports Arena here.
The 23-year old pride of San Juan, Batangas was the first to accept the defeat after the Pinays collapsed in the classification match against Kazakhstan, 20-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 3-15.
“It was a tough loss for the team definitely kasi syempre we were almost there,” said Valdez, who finished with 11 points.
But if there’s one thing that Valdez is glad about is the fact that the national team is improving.
In the 2015 edition in Tianjin, China, the Philippines finished 12th and for the many-time national player, their eighth-place finish only motivates the team to achieve more.
“But kami, as a Philippine team, ito talaga ang start (ng pag-angat natin) nakikita namin as players sobrang mas gusto namin (maglaro), mas na-inspire kami na bumalik sa mga ganitong tournaments dahil sa ganitong challenges,” she said.
After the eight-day tournament, the nationals will fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday for the 29th Southeast Asian Games on August 19-31.
Although the volleyball tournament won't start until August 21, the team will participate in the opening ceremonies on Saturday.
“Ngayon we have to accept the loss na naman, we have to move forward on to the next goal, it's the SEA Games,” said Valdez.
“So we have to be prepared mentally and physically, we have to recover fast. Tuloy pa rin, meron pa tayong SEA Games bawi lang nang bawi. Hanggang may lalabanan, laban lang nang laban,” she added.
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