ALAS Pilipinas Men stalwart setter Owa Retamar was reduced to tears the moment he first set foot inside the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday ahead of their historic FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship debut.
For Retamar, who’s seen and been through it all with Philippine volleyball over the years, it was a moment long overdue - not only for the men’s game, but for a sporting country like ours altogether.
“Sobrang saya ko. Pagpasok na pagpasok ko sa court, bigla akong kinilabutan talaga,” he said.
“Medyo naluluha ako kasi first time nga nangyari sa Pilipinas ‘to tapos kasama pa ko sa naglaro. Siguro, kasama din yun sa pressure kasi tayo yung host. Tapos first time namin kaya medyo slow start kami.”
The three-time Spikers’ Turf best setter made the most of his first crack at the world stage with 26 excellent sets in a gallant 13-25, 17-25, 23-25 stand against Tunisia on Friday.
READ: Alas Men go down fighting against Tunisia in FIVB Worlds debut
And as it goes with playmakers, the job never gets any easier, more so on the game’s grandest stage.
“‘Yung role ko kasi. napakabigat. Sabi ko nga sa kanila. tulungan nila ako para mas mapaganda yung set ko sa kanila,” Retamar said.
“Ichi-cheer ko rin sila and alam ko naman bawat puntos, nakakapagod, pero nandiyan naman si kuya Bry [Bagunas] and si kuya Marck [Espejo] para tulungan ako para maka-score kami.”
Climb continues for Philippine volleyball
Winning games might be a tall order for the most part in a stacked Pool A featuring powerhouse sides Tunisia, Egypt and Iran, but at the very least, Retamar hopes Alas Men will accustom themselves to playing at the sport’s highest level.
As he put it, “Sana, masanay na yung team namin sa ganitong competition. Sana, madala na yung strong start talaga para at least gaya ng second set or last set, makapag-perform pa kami.”
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