Philippines falls to Indonesia anew, settles for 8th in Asiad volleyball

But the Filipinas were not discouraged, saying success is not achieved overnight.

“We will not stop. We’re just starting the national team program. Our training and exposure in other major tournaments would definitely continue,” said national coach Shaq delos Santos.

“After this, we’ll be going to the AVC Asian Cup in Thailand. Our hopes are high. I hope the team would carry all the lessons they gained here and show improvement,” Delos Santos added.

The players said they won’t quit and would continue to work hard to raise the level of their game hopefully in time for the SEA Games the country is hosting next year.

“As a national team, we’re just starting our program. We’re going to work hard and persevere. If this is part of our journey, so be it. We’re not going to stop practicing and training,” said skipper Aby Marano.

But based on the showings of the Southeast Asian teams here, the Philippines could well be in an uphill climb in the SEA Games.

Thailand was to play China for the gold medal here while Vietnam placed sixth ahead of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Team Phl’s lone win came at the expense of East Asian minnow Hong Kong, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22, in a campaign also marked by a near upset of Kazakhstan at the start of the consolation round.

Yet again yesterday, Manganang inflicted the Filipinas much beating, delivering 16 kills and three blocks for 19 points while her sister, an equally-powerful Amasya Manganang, finished with eight points she laced with crucial hits in the third and fourth sets.

Mylene Paat came through with 10 hits while Alyssa Valdez and Aby Marano chipped in nine and six markers, respectively, in their last match in the tourney where they finished ahead of Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and India.