More international competitions are needed if the Philippine women’s beach handball team hopes to take the next step after another respectable showing in the IHF Beach Handball World Championships.

National team coach Janna Franquelli said regular exposure against world-class opponents will help the Filipinas improve their decision-making in pressure situations following their 12th-place finish in Zagreb, Croatia, last June.

“We really need to have more competitions,” Franquelli said.

“During crucial moments of the game, players need to make quick decisions. As coaches, our job is to prepare them, devise a game plan, study the opponent, and make adjustments. But once on the court, it is ultimately the players who make the decisions.”

Although the Nationals fell short of reaching the quarterfinals, Franquelli believes the team made significant progress compared to its previous campaign, noting that the level of competition in this year’s tournament was much tougher.

The Filipinas highlighted their campaign by pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, stunning three-time champion Brazil, 14-26, 23-22, 7-6, on 25 June.

“Overall, you really can’t predict the results. Even though our ranking was the same as in the previous World Championships, the quality of the opponents we faced this time was higher,” Franquelli said.

“The athletes and the beach handball community know that our team has improved. I am very proud of what we achieved. Of course, we aimed for even more, but for now, this is a huge step forward for the program.”