BY ABBY TORALBA
TEAM Philippines tries to recover from a tough loss the last time out when it takes on defending champion China today in the AVC Cup for Women at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Still smarting from a 19-25, 17-25, 29-31 defeat at the hands of Vietnam on opening day last Sunday, the national team tackles the Chinese crew at 7 p.m. in the preliminary round of Pool A.
Australia duels Chinese Taipei at 1 p.m. in Pool B of the continental meet, while Iran battles Vietnam at 4 p.m.
“Sobrang proud, sobrang happy lang kami sa loob ng court na talagang kahit kulang, talagang laban (pa rin), kahit kinulang man pero ang dami naman naming natutunan sa game na iyon,” said open hitter Jema Galanza, who led the Filipinas with 13 points.
“Magtratraining kami ng mabuti, magpre-prepare kami for China. Siguro play happy and kung ano iyong sistema na ginagawa namin sa loob ng court, ilalabas namin,” she added.
Aside from Galanza, also expected to rise for the Philippine team are skipper Michele Gumabao, hitter Diana Mae Carlos, libero Kyla Atienza, setter Kyle Negrito, and middle blockers Jeanette Panaga and Celine Domingo.
China rolled to its second straight win after surviving a five-set thriller over Vietnam 25-12, 25-6, 29-31, 21-25, 15-12 yesterday.
Zhuang Yushan, Zhou Yetong, Hu Mingyuan, and Wu Mengjie are expected to lead the way for the five-time champions China.
The top four teams in each pool will advance in the quarterfinals.
