CHONBURI, Thailand – A close loss to powerhouse Vietnam in its opening match in the Southeast Asian Games men’s handball competitions boosted the Philippines’ aspirations for a medal.

The Filipinos nearly stunned the defending champions before falling short in a 25-27 defeat at the Eastern National Sports Training Center on Monday.

It was a commendable performance for the Philippines, considering that Vietnam completed a golden sweep in the men’s and women’s indoor handball and men’s beach handball events when it hosted the 2021 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

“I think ito ay magiging way to show that we are not a team that is easy to push over, kailangan nilang paghandaan din kami (“I think this will be a way to show that we are not a team that is easy to push over, they also need to prepare for us),” said 6-foot-4, Ethan Casares.

“Lalaban kami at lalaban. Doon ako natutuwa for our team (We will fight and keep fighting. That’s what makes me proud of our team)," he added.

Casares, who plays pivot, admitted there were low expectations going into this SEA Games as he and other members joined the squad just a couple of months back.

He took up the sport seriously following his two-year run as a physical therapist for Philippine Basketball Association club Rain or Shine, with which he occasionally served as a practice player.

That experience came in handy as Casares helped the Philippines give Vietnam a run for its money.

“Coming into this, hindi rin kami sobrang nag-expect na aabot sa punto na ganito. Feeling ko kinabahan sila nang kaunti. Ang maganda kasi na nakadikit kami and to perform the way we did today, laking bagay din, natuwa kami lahat, (We also didn’t really expect that we would reach this point. I think they got a bit nervous. The good thing is that we kept it close, and performing the way we did today was a big thing, we were all happy)," said Casares.

“Ang dami naming hindi sure noong una kasi for some of us nga, ito ‘yung unang international stint namin in handball (At first, many of us were unsure because, for some of us, this was our first international stint in handball),” Casares added.

The Philippines eyes a bounce-back win against Malaysia on Thursday, 11 December with the team also set to tangle with Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand in Group A.