Lat Volcanoes, humirit sa Asia Series
NAKAMIT ng Philippine National Women’s Rugby Team – kilala bilang Lady Volcanoes – ang silver medal sa 2018 Asia Trophy Series nitong weekend sa Brunei Darussalam.
Naipanalo ng Lady Volcanoes ang limang laro sa torneo na nilahukan ng Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India at Nepal sa Pool B at Indonesia, Malaysia, Guam, Brunei at Laos sa Pool A.
Magkatulong na itinaguyod ng First Pacific at MVP Sports Foundation, ginapi ng Lady Volcanoes ang Uzbekistan, 12 -10, Pakistan, 38- 0, India 17 - 10 at Nepal, 43-1 upang manguna sa Pool B sa Group stage bago pinataob ang Guam, 10-7 sa semifinals.
Nabigo naman sa kamay ng Guam sa Group stage, ginapi ng mga Malaysians ang Uzbekistan sa semifinals upang umusad sa Gold Medal match laban sa Lady Volcanoes.
“It was great to see the team perform. Aiumi Ono was outstanding, Rassiel Sales showed pure speed, Sylvia Tudoc with fantastic Rugby awareness and Nicole Kovanen with brute strength and go forward. The whole team as a group played attacking Rugby, it was great to watch,” pahayag ni Jake Letts ng Philippine Rugby.
Sa Finals, nauna pang umagwat ang mga Malaysians, 5-1 bago sila hinabol at lamangan ng Volcanoes, 7 – 5, ngunit nabigo ang Pinay na maprotektahan ang kalamangan hanggang inagwatan sila ng Malaysians, 10-7 at angkinin ang gold medal.
“It was a fantastic weekend for women’s rugby in Asia to see 10 teams represented in this tournament - the most we’ve ever had competing for the trophy. The level of competition was very competitive especially from Guam, Uzbekistan and Malaysia. We went undefeated the entire tournament until the final match against Malaysia and although we wish the final result was different, I couldn’t be more proud of how the team performed overall. Not only is it the best result the team has ever had in a single tournament, the entire team was composed of Philippine homegrown players. The program is on track for a competitive rematch against Malaysia in the Southeast Asian Games next year,” ayon kay coach Ada Milby ng Philippine team.