Volleybelles eye bounce-back win

MANILA, Philippines — Coming up short against a taller, power-hitting Vietnamese side, the Philippine women’s volleyball team is left with no choice but to hurdle a tougher, classier defending champion Thailand tonight to keep its drive for a rare shot at the gold in the 30th SEA Games.

How would they do it, only they would know. 

The one-day break should give the Filipina spikers some time to recover, re-organize and perhaps re-think how would they be able to contain a team teeming with power hitters, superb defenders and ace playmakers, who simply outclassed the Indonesians, 25-13, 25-15, 25-9, in the first game of the competitions at the Philsports Arena in stormy Tuesday.

The Pinays watched that match before forcing the Vietnamese to a decider and then succumbing, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 25-20, 8-15, before a disappointed crowd that came in full force to support the star-studded Phl squad.

But after a gritty stand in the fourth, which they seized control early, wavered but recovered in a tense-filled endgame, they lost steam toward the end of the fifth with missed hits and shaky reception, enabling the Vietnamese, who also denied the Pinays of a bronze medal in the last SEAG in Kuala Lumpur, to turn what had been a highly-charged encounter into a virtual breeze at the finish.

Coach Shaq delos Santos will have a lot of adjustments to do, not to mention motivation, to prop up his wards with the fans expected to provide the extra push the way they’ve been doing come hell or high water.

“We just came up short in the end,” said top spiker Alyssa Valdez, who nevertheless assured the country and the fans that they have taken the loss in stride and that they are looking forward to their Thai match with a positive mindset.

“Going up against Thailand and in the future games, our mindset would be towards the game, the mental toughness,” she added. 

Game time is at 6 p.m. after the 3:30 p.m. clash between Vietnam and Indonesia.