Precious as gold

It’s not every day that you get a chance to face an Olympic champion in a very competitive game

The best feeling is seeing your loved ones going all out to support you. My boyfriend Jerome, Mama Baby and Tita Gigi with me in the Athletes Village here in Jakarta. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The greatest perk of being an athlete is not the salary, attention, prominence or even the scholarship.

It’s the chance to compete against the best players, the best teams in the world.

Here in the Asian Games, we had the privilege to experience that.

After facing world superpowers in Thailand and Japan, we found ourselves in a tough position against Indonesia last Saturday.

Sure, we already made it to the quarterfinals and the game was just one of the matches in the preliminary round, but winning over Indonesia means a lot to us, especially if we want to fulfill our dream of getting a medal again in the Southeast Asian Games next year.

Before the match, we already knew what to expect.

Coach Shaq Delos Santos said we have to step up on defense and we need to stop their top spiker – Aprilia Manganang – from doing her thing at the attack zone.

He also said we, the blockers, must come up with solid defense and if ever we fail to contain their attacks, the backline defenders must all step up.

On offense, he told us to deliver loaded services to throw their attackers out of their rhythm.

We have already seen a lot of very good attackers like Sara Klisura, Stephanie Niemer, Katherine Bell and Gyselle Silva, but Manganang is one of a kind.

Her hang time is impressive and she packs her spikes with power.

Honestly, I managed to block her a couple of times, but it came at the tail end of the match. It took me a lot of time– and a lot of rotations– before I finally got the timing of her attacks.

So, while I was on the bench, I made sure to observe her so I will be ready by the time coach calls my name. My teammates did a fantastic job checking and blocking her because it allowed us to execute a good offense.

But winning over Indonesia wasn’t meant to be.

We lost in four sets and there were a lot of lessons coming out of that setback.

Although I believe we have a good chance at winning, we just have to accept that setback and treat it as a learning experience.

We need to trust the process and have a mindset that everything is not yet over.

On Wednesday, we’ll have another major challenge again, this time, against China.

We know China is a super team with vast international experience.

It won the gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 over Serbia and their top player – Zhu Ting – was named as Most Valuable Player.

Winning over the Chinese is next to impossible, so coach told us that we just have to play our game. We have to follow our game plan and grab this opportunity because it’s not every day that you get a chance to face an Olympic champion in a very competitive game.

We have already seen a lot of very good attackers like Sara Klisura, Stephanie Niemer, Katherine Bell and Gyselle Silva, but Manganang is one of a kind.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we should all savor and enjoy.

That’s why seeing my mama Baby, aunt Gigi and boyfriend Jerome in the stands waving and cheering for me makes it even more special.

This is the first time for them, especially my mom, to watch me play in an international game abroad.

I know they made an effort to come here in Jakarta to support me and my teammates. I will repay that by playing my heart out and treat every game as if it is our last.

Honestly speaking, there’s really no guarantee that we will win over China.

But stepping on the same court with them the same way we did against the best players from Thailand, Japan and Indonesia in our previous matches, as well as seeing my loved ones in the crowd, is an experience worth treasuring.