Affair to remember
We will continue to fight for the name written in front of our jerseys and for people who believe in us
First, let me apologize for missing the deadline of my column last week.
As you know, we were super busy since we graced the opening ceremonies of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games last Saturday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. All I can say is this: Wow! This is the first time that the women’s volleyball team attended the opening parade since we started joining the SEA Games again in 2015 and it was such an amazing, colorful and very memorable program.
The organizers and volunteers really worked hard and performed really well to come up with a stunning opening show that everybody enjoyed.
Hosting the SEA Games is truly special.
Aside from giving the athletes, coaches, officials, media and other guests from 10 other Southeast Asian countries high-level of competition, hosting the SEA Games also gives us an opportunity to open the doors of our country and giving them a taste of Filipino hospitality.
And it was very obvious in the SEA Games. You can see the Filipinos are observing simple rules and regulations and are giving way for the visitors, especially on the road.
It seems that for 12 magical days, the whole nation is uniting to show the world that we are also capable of hosting — not just the Games — but a wonderful affair to remember. Unfortunately, we haven’t won a game so far.
And today will be our last day as we face Indonesia in the battle for bronze medal.
We opened our campaign against Vietnam.
We played really hard and had a serious chance of winning, but the Vietnamese simply wanted it more. They refused to die and gamely challenged us for every single point.
I think it’s the addition of their senior players who were not around during the Asean Grand Prix helped them win. These seniors stabilized the offense and served as their leaders whenever we mount a rally. They didn’t quit and they guided their young players to an impressive victory.
Our second game was against Thailand. Of course, we know how powerful the Thais are. They won’t be called as the “gold standard” of Southeast Asian volleyball for nothing.
Still, we were positive heading into the match against them. We were thinking that the ball is round and anything can happen, especially since we are hosting the Games. Once the crowd rallies behind us, we can bring down anyone, even the mighty Thais.
But the third set of the match said it all.
Despite losing by huge margin in the first and second sets, we refused to die and gave them a good fight in the third. We fought bravely in every rally and gave them a pretty huge scare. In fact, the set was extended to 32 points before they finally plucked the victory.
We lost the match, but the fact that we forced them to play their best and pushed them to their limits was already a huge achievement. It shows that there are already some pretty good improvements in our team.
We were riding the crest of this morale-boosting win when we faced Indonesia in our third game.
It was such a tough loss to Indonesia because we yielded some very important points.
Mylene Paat, my roommate, played significant minutes and helped us stay afloat. Even if we won the first set, the second set was really crucial as we were already ahead until the Indonesians mounted a rally that pretty much dictated the tempo of the game the rest of the way.
We simply lost our composure in the last two sets as our floor defense started to falter and our communication on the floor completely collapsed.
But then again, as they say, there’s always a lesson in every fall. We may have lost the game to the Indonesians, but we saw the eagerness and collective effort of our team to win for the glory of our country. We know that this is not yet over and we still have our bronze medal game to turn things around and salvage some measure of pride.
We will continue to fight for the name written in front of our jerseys and for people who believe in us.
Although some would say that the process is already taking long, we opt to look at the brighter side and stay positive because we know, deep in our hearts, that someday we will reach our ultimate goal, which is to bring back the glory days of Philippine volleyball.
As I’ve said, today is the last day of our SEA Games journey. We are all asking for your prayers and support as we march into our final game against Indonesia. Our men’s team is also battling in the semis and we are all happy to see everyone supporting, not just the volleyball teams, but all Filipino athletes competing in the SEA Games.
Of course, let me thank those who stand by our side in this magical journey.
Thank you for all your support and for being with us through good times and bad. We are truly blessed to have you and we’re so proud to be Filipinos, who have the best fans in the world.
The SEA Games is truly an affair to remember. Whatever happens, let us savor and enjoy every single minute of it.
As they say, there’s always a lesson in every fall.