HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

A decade has already passed since she first donned the national colors, yet the coveted Southeast Asian Games podium finish remains elusive for Alas Pilipinas setter Jia de Guzman.

She was in Singapore in 2015 when the Filipinas marched in the biennial meet for the first time after a 10-year absence.

Five editions later, De Guzman and the new generation of the national women’s volleyball team were again reduced to tears like their predecessors.

Alas lost in the consolation bronze medal match against a familiar foe in Indonesia for the fourth straight time in the 33rd edition of the regional sports meet in Thailand.

No Philippines again in the top three.

But the decorated setter remains defiant.

No amount of failure can stop her from dreaming and hoping to deliver a SEA Games medal for the country someday.

“This is already my fourth SEA Games, and in every SEA Games I learn something new. No matter how painful it is, I always learn something new,” said the 30-year-old playmaker, who will be celebrating Christmas without a shiny SEA Games medal hanging around her neck.

De Guzman’s burning desire to bring honor to the nation remains blazing.

After Alas’ loss to the Indonesians, De Guzman was there not only to comfort her teammates but to remind them that the fight is not yet over.

Hope springs eternal, she told them.

“We still have a lot to go through; it doesn’t stop here. What we told the girls after losing was just like a heads-up. What we’re really asking for today is just to give everything on the court, no matter what happens, because that’s how you’ll know where you stand as an athlete. That’s where you’ll learn,” De Guzman said.

“This is your first SEA Games; you still have a lot to go through. Use this as your motivation to get better. There’s always something to improve moving forward.”

The Philippines has not won a medal since bagging bronze in the 2005 Manila SEA Games.

Worse is the country’s gold medal drought.

De Guzman wasn’t even born yet when the Philippines dethroned Thailand in the 1993 Singapore edition.

Since then, the Thais have come up on top in the last 15 straight staging of the sports meet.

Although still far from the level of its powerhouse counterparts in the region, Alas has already taken a step in its development.

The team has maintained most of its core in the last two years and gained experience through a series of international exposures, including a runner-up finish in the AVC Nations Cup and back-to-back bronze in the SEA V. League this year.

“The long-term program that we keep talking about, I think we’ve taken one step forward since we were able to maintain the pool for two years. Hopefully, the next two years will go the same way, but the other steps that need to be accomplished in that long-term program are proper preparation coming into tournaments like this,” she said.

Alas failed to sustain the momentum it earlier gained as it had little preparation time for the SEA Games due to player availability issues.

“Like the SEA Games, we already know it happens every two years. Other Olympic year calendar tournaments, we know when they’re going to happen, so hopefully, if we do want to win this medal that we’ve been waiting for a long time, that we’ve all been waiting for, we do have to prepare for things like this,” she added.

“And at the same time, as we all can see, no matter which player is chosen to represent the country, we want to give our best. So why not give the support and proper preparation so that we can also give the players what they need to deliver the medal for the Philippines?”

The Philippine National Volleyball Federation, under its new president Tony Boy Liao, has vowed to address the perennial issue of building up for the SEA Games.

The next two years leading up to the SEA Games in Malaysia are crucial for Alas.

De Guzman and the rest of the national team will certainly do their part to get the job done.

“We will keep moving forward even when we’re back in our teams, universities, or clubs; we will train for a higher purpose. Everything we learn here, we will take back to our clubs. Because that’s how we will rise as Philippine volleyball,” she said.