TAKING down an Asian giant like Kazakhstan for the first time in over a decade took more than just luck for Alas Pilipinas.
Sure, the Philippines might’ve had a lucky break in the absence of leading Kazakh scorer Sana Anarkulova, but the depth of the nationals’ star power shone through in the end.
READ: Alas Pilipinas advances to AVC Nations Cup semifinals
National team mainstay Fifi Sharma, who pitched in five points in the win, pointed out how their historic 25-21, 25-15, 25-19 breakthrough to reach the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup wasn’t only a matter of taking advantage of an undermanned opposition.
“We all wish her [Anarkulova] a speedy recovery. What happened to her was really unfortunate, but we still think that Kazakhstan is a very formidable team and we had a hard time playing against them,” Sharma said.
“I wouldn’t call it [the win] lucky. I would never call it lucky. I feel like we just put in all the effort. Everybody was in the same mindset and everybody wanted the same thing and I think that’s why we got the straight-sets win today.”
From here on out with yet another chance to bring a continental medal home, it will all be about carrying the weight of the national crest on their chests with pride and honor as they’ve done so throughout the tournament.
“We’re gonna prepare [for Chinese Taipei] the same way for all of the teams that we face in this tournament. We’re going to study them and play against them with respect,” Sharma said.
“We’re going to do our best because we represent the country and we’re going to do our best to represent our country well.”
Depth-defying squad
The 14-woman strong Alas Pilipinas paraded its depth on offense and defense over the course of pool play.
Through five games, Alas head coach Jorge Souza de Brito made it a point to find the best possible combination of stars upon regularly shuffling his aces and starting unit in almost every single game so far.
“This pattern, formation that we did today was the second time that we did it. We are trying to make this [work] during the competition but also trying to rotate all the players,” de Brito said.
“The main factor is we have more than one option to play in each position and they are more comfortable to play together.
“With the national team, we always have a short time of preparation and they come one by one. Right now, I can see that we’re really ready to use all the players.”
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