The Philippine team is good, but it will improve in the next few games of the Asian Games

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Philippines returned to the Asian Games after a 36-year absence but was clobbered by an old, familiar foe in Thailand, surrendering a relatively close 25-22, 25-12, 25-15 outcome in the women’s volleyball competition of the 18th Asian Games Sunday at the GBK Volley Indoor gymnasium.

The Filipinas’ defeat to the Thais—the 11 straight Southeast Asian Games champions since 1989, was expected though. The Philippines’ last taste of the women’s volleyball championship in the lowest of the regional meets was in 1987 before the program went on a tailspin under the defunct Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF).

Rising stars Chatchu-on Moksri and Pimpichaya Kokram delivered the heavy blows while Pleumjit Thinkaow and Wilavan Apinyapong provided leadership for the Thais, who are looking to capture the crown after a bronze-medal finish in the previous edition in Incheon in 2014.

Playmaker Nootsara Tomkom had very limited minutes in preparation for the big guns in Japan, South Korea and China in the next few days.

Alyssa Valdez starred with seven hits while Jaja Santiago had six markers for the Filipinos, who are making a return in the Asian Games for the first time since competing in the New Delhi edition in 1982.

The Nationals actually had a hot start off the strong services from Santiago, but collapsed down the stretch as Kokram, Moksri and Thinkaow buckled down to work.

“We need a lot of experience in this kind of high level tournament,” head coach Shaq delos Santos told Daily Tribune’s Asiad coverage supported by Primehomes following the match that lasted one hour and 12 minutes.

“We had a good first set but we struggled with errors, especially in our services and receptions in the second and third sets that led to our collapse,” Delos Santos added.

Before the rise of Indonesia and Vietnam, the Thais and the Filipinos were bitter rivals in Southeast Asian volleyball.

After winning the gold medal in the 1989 Kuala Lumpur and 1991 Manila SEA Games, the Filipinos regained the crown in the 1993 Singapore SEA Games.

That setback was painful to the Thais, prompting the Thailand Volleyball Federation to launch a long-term program where young girls from various provinces were brought to Bangkok to train.

The expectations were met, but we know that we still have something to show.

The result was impressive as the Thais captured the next 11 SEA Games crowns while becoming a perennial top contender in the Asian Games and other continental tournaments.

The squad is also a regular fixture in various world tourneys, paving the way for it to capture the 16th spot in the latest ranking of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).

Delos Santos said it is only fitting that they faced the Thais in their very first Asian Games match in 36 years.

“This is a good experience for us because we experienced how it feels playing against an elite team like Thailand. We realized that we can win over them, but we’re still in the process of rebuilding and hopefully our performance improves as we go along,” he said.

Delos Santos said the Thais are the gold standard in Asian volleyball and putting up a good fight against them is already an achievement in itself.

“The expectations were met, but we know that we still have something to show. We need to be more composed and play as one,” Delos Santos said.

Thinkaow said the Philippines may have lost the match, but its improvement was very obvious.

In the first set, the Thais struggled to match the defensive intensity and strong service performance by the Filipinos behind Santiago and Valdez, who played for 3BB Nakornnont in the prestigious Thai Volleyball League last year.

But the Thais started to regain their deadly form as the attacking prowess of Moksri and Kokram worked well with the defensive presence of Thinkaow.

Thinkaow stressed that this team is way better than the Philippine side that faced them in the AVC Asian Senior Championship and the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur last year.

“The Philippines? They’re better than before,” she said before excusing herself to join the teammates in the dugout.

Head coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul validated Thinkaow’s claim, saying that the services of the Philippines were good, but they managed to make some crucial adjustments to crawl back in the second and third sets.

He added that the Philippines will further improve as the Asian Games progress.

“The Philippines team is good, but it will improve in the next few games of the Asian Games,” he said.

“They had good service in the first set, but we went back to the game. We made some adjustments and got the win in the second and third sets.”