Alas Pilipinas battles strong Thai team in the 5th SEA V-League – BusinessWorld Online
THE TREK BACK to road towards Southeast Asian Games glory for Philippine women’s volleyball resumes as Alas Pilipinas clashes with regional powerhouse Thailand on Friday at the start of the first leg of the 5th SEA V-League at the Terminal 21 Korat in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
The Filipinas, spearheaded by Jia de Guzman, Bella Belen, Angel Canino, Alyssa Solomon, Eya Laure, Thea Gagate, Vanie Gander and Fifi Sharma, will battle the Thais at 6 p.m. (Philippine time) with hopes of, at best, pulling off a shocker and, at worst, giving the perennial SEA Games gold winner a decent fight.
Also part of the team are Mars Alba, Justine Jazareno, Dawn Catindig, Shaina Nitura, Leila Cruz, Cla Loresca and Dell Palomata.
The Nationals clash with the Vietnamese next Saturday and then capped off its opening leg campaign with a duel versus the Indonesians Sunday.
It will be a short but sweet tournament as the nation with the best record after the single-round robin format captures the gold.
From Thailand, Alas flies to Ninh Binh, Vietnam for the second leg where it battles Vietnam on Aug. 8, Thailand on Aug. 9 and Indonesia on Aug. 10.
The country is hoping to continue to improve as it eyes a first medal in the SEA Games this December in Thailand since it snared a bronze exactly two decades ago when the country hosted the biennial meet in Bacolod. — Joey Villar