BELLA Belen has made a habit of being part of Philippine volleyball history, and when another opportunity to break new ground presented itself, she was not about to let it pass.
Belen stood at the forefront of Alas Pilipinas Women’s breakthrough silver-medal finish, putting up 17 points in a 25-13, 23-25, 25-19, 33-31 victory over Indonesia on Sunday that gave the Philippines its first-ever silver medal in the seven-year, 11-leg history of the SEA V.Cup.
READ: Alas claims historic SEA V.Cup silver in payback win vs Indonesia
The result also allowed Alas Women to settle the matter themselves, without having to wait for the Thailand-Vietnam match later in the day to determine their fate.
“We really prepared for this game because we had a chance to get the silver medal, and I believe in the team, and I know that we can win this game, and I'm so happy that we won this game,” Belen said.
It was a significant turnaround for Belen, who had been held to just two points in the Philippines’ opening Leg 2 loss to Thailand before responding with 16 points in the four-set win over Vietnam.
The Philippines had every reason to expect a tougher fight from Indonesia, especially after the same side had denied Alas Women a bronze in both Leg 1 of the SEA V.Cup and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
But after taking a 2-1 set lead in a rare silver-medal game, Belen knew the Philippines had to capitalize on the opportunity in front of them.
“We knew that Indonesia would play better against us because we lost the last leg. We had a chance. We already won two sets. It was up to us to finish the game early,” she said.
Indonesia refused to make it easy, turning the fourth set into a marathon where Alas Women had to weather eight deadlocks and seven Indonesian set points, repeatedly fighting off the threat of being dragged into sudden death before closing it out, 33-31.
For Belen, who had already made history of her own before in the college ranks with National University, it was another chance to add to that legacy, this time alongside a team that finally pushed the Philippines beyond its six bronze-medal finishes and four fourth-place results in the SEA V.Cup.
“I believe in the team, and I'm very happy. I hope the Philippines is proud of us,” she said.
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