ARMED with resilience, trust, and hardwork, everything can be eventually achieved as Alas Pilipinas skipper Jia De Guzman believes the national women’s volleyball team is on the right track to success.
The Jorge Souza de Brito-mentored team recently wound up with back-to-back bronze medals in the 5th Southeast Asia (SEA) V.League, its fourth straight third-place finish in the four-nation regional tournament.
Aside from the bronze triumphs, Angel Canino and Justine Jazareno also made the country proud as both of them shone in the two legs of the competition, the former winning the Best Outside Spiker award in the first stop in Thailand while the latter capturing the Best Libero plum in the second leg in Vietnam.
“We’re happy because not just of the podium finishes but also because iyong pinaka-goal namin is to build something long term, so these are all building blocks of what we want to do as a team. Clear naman iyong direction sa aming players and coaches kung ano iyong gusto namin ma-achieve,” De Guzman said.
“The small steps ng progress ng building a system and getting more people to come into the team and buy into the system, it shows na iyong recent wins namin na things are working and sana magtuloy-tuloy lang talaga,” she added.
The ace setter, along with national team members Dawn Catindig, Vanie Gandler and Alleiah Malaluan rode the FIVB Men’s World Championship-themed LRT-2 to promote and show support for the upcoming prestigious tournament.
The veteran playmaker also pointed out that what was done in the SEA V.League with shuffling of players inside the court during their games was a testament that any Alas player can perform and deliver for the team as well as trusting and solidifying De Brito’s system.
“Regarding doon sa question about the mixing and matching of players kasi it’s what is needed in the national team, especially with tournaments na every day naglalaro. It’s not like the local tournaments we play na you can stick to a specific seven and then you get to rest four to five days before the next game,” she said. “Ito every game naglalaro and we’re expected to play with anyone who is put inside the court. Ngayon, it shows that young ones, experienced ones, we’re all comfortable playing with each other and that’s because start palang nung season na ito, pati last year, sila coach did everything they could and are encouraging us to be able to play and perform who else is inside the court.
“At the end of the day, we’re all playing in the same system, we’re all trusting in the same system, so it should be easier for us to work together kahit sinong pumasok sa loob. It just goes to show na whoever is put inside, kung sino man kaming nasa labas, we totally support kung sino ang papasok sa loob. We’re grateful that things are going our way and sana tuloy-tuloy ang support.”
The PNVF and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), also led by presidential son William Vincent “Vinny” Araneta Marcos—co-chair of the LOC, are gearing further for the forthcoming World Championships slated on Sept. 12 to 28 in the country.
