Volcanoes, kumikig sa Asia Seven
NAKAUSAD ang Globe Philippine Volcanoes sa top four matapos ang Round 1 ng Asia Sevens Series nitong Sabado sa Hong Kong – kauna-unahan ng National Rugby team mula noong 2013.
Sinimulan ng Volcanoes ang ratsada sa impresibong 2-0 marka matapos magwagi sa reigning Asian Games bronze medalist Korea, 12-7. Pinangunahan ni Ryan Reyes Howe ang Pinoy sa kanyang determinadong hataw laban sa Koreans.
Nasundan ng Volcanoes ang pagdiriwang nang padapain ang reigning SEA Games gold medalist Malaysia, 26-12.
“A solid first day performance for our team, we set ourselves up and secured our place for the finals early in the tournament,” pahayag ni Chris Everingham, Performance Manager for the Philippines.
Sa ikalawang araw, naungusan ang Volcanoes ng 2018 Gold Medalist at the Asian Games Hong Kong at overall winner Japan. Sa bronze medal match, naungusan ang Pinoy ng Sri Lanka.
“An overall fourth finish in Round 1 we are extremely proud of. It’s a long series, we travel for round 2 in Korea in two weeks, where we will get another shot for a medal place finishing,” sambit ni Jake Letts ng Philippine Rugby
Naglaro sa Volcanoes ang anim na rookie player, sa pangunguna ni Donald Canon Coleman.
“In the past, we have finished as high as second and third, however since 2014 it’s been tough to finish on the podium. Rugby in Asia continues to rise and it’s good to see Philippine Rugby continues to show it has what it takes to compete at the highest level. A top four achievement is a great result for last weekend. Our challenge will be to remain consistent throughout the next two rounds. We had six new players for Hong Kong, so we will be gaining experience from this at look for a podium finish in two weeks” ayon kay Letts.
Matapos ang training camp. Lalaban ang Volcanoes sa Korea sa September 29-30.