Maraño says volleybelles still need to work on maturity

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine women’s volleyball team is the toast of the town following a series of international assignments that brought it to three countries in a span of more than one month.

But team captain Aby Maraño said they still remain a work in progress.

Marano said they still have a lot to learn despite gaining experience following a training camp in Japan, the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia and the AVC Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup in Thailand from August to September.

For one, they need to work on their maturity, especially during endgames where they bow to teams who have been together for quite a while.

In the Asian Games, the Nationals raced to a 9-0 lead against powerhouse Thailand only to suffer a meltdown down the stretch.

It happened again in the Asian Cup where they were on the verge of winning over Australia and Iran until immaturity kicked in, leading to another sorry endgame collapse.

Marano knows that it’s something they have to address.

“The immaturity of the team still comes out because we’re not yet really exposed in international competition. Unlike other teams who have been playing together for quite some time and know how to handle it,” she said in a television interview.

“The challenge is how we could finish the game. We had some matches that we nearly pulled off. We almost won over Thailand in the Asian Games as well as Australia and Iran in the Asian Cup. Sayang!”

She said their international experience taught them a lot of lessons.

“When you’re in the court, you’re also facing yourself,” she said.

“You’re asking yourself if you can do it, can I overcome these veterans who have been playing together for a long time?

“It’s the way how you would carry yourself with composure and maturity.”

Still, the ultimate goal is to win a medal when the country hosts the Southeast Asian Games next year.

“Deep in our hearts, we only have one goal,” she said.

“We really want to make the country proud. We will push ourselves to reach our goal. The most important thing is to trust each other and trust the process.”