The Philippine Women's National Team scored back-to-back wins to end the 2022 PNVF AVC Cup for Women preliminary round, clinching the third seed in Pool A.
And captain setter Jia De Guzman couldn't be more proud of how the team showed out and already assured the country's best finish in the continental meet regardless of the outcome of the knockout stage.
The Philippines finished 9th in 2018.
All this with the squad, which was then playing as the PVL professional club team Creamline, clueless about this national team stint a few weeks ago.
But right after conquering the PVL Invitational Conference, the Cool Smashers then accepted the offer to represent the country in the international tilt.
Creamline was also challenged just last year when the squad had to sacrifice time away from their family as the 2021 PVL Open Conference was in a bubble format in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.
So with everything the club team has gone through, ups and downs, it made Creamline - and now the Philippine team - solid.
“Sobrang saya namin kasi we sacrificed a lot for this whole year, actually for the past years. And it just goes to show na it’s easier to achieve things when you’re training in a system, a long-term program, and everyone believes in the system talaga. And everyone’s really disciplined and all our hard work is bearing fruit now," said the six-time PVL Best Setter after their win over South Korea, 25-18, 25-13, 25-17.
Having been familiar with the players, from top to bottom, head coach Sherwin Meneses can put anyone on the taraflex and have no doubts about it.
Against South Korea, seldomly-used Lorie Bernardo, Pau Soriano, and Rose Vargas had their own moments.
Bernardo got three points in the clincher third frame off two service aces and a block, while Soriano and Vargas produced two points each.
“We’re really happy kasi we’ve seen how mature she is in training. If meron mang sobrang mag-overload sa ‘ming lahat, it’s her," Morado on rookie Bernardo.
“Sobrang hinahabol niya ‘yung skills niya; she wants to be at par with all of us. And kami rin, we’re trying to be on par with her energy that she brings to the team. So, we’re happy that she played a great game also today.”
After a stellar last two matches that clinch the Nationals a spot in the quarters, the Pool B second seed that they will face is powerhouse Thailand.
Knowing how big of a challenge the Thais are, De Guzman knows each and every one of the Filipina players will leave everything in the knockout.
"You know naman juggernaut talaga ang Thailand pero naniniwala kami sa system namin, regardless, whatever the results are when we go up against Thailand. We know na learning experience siya and we’ll do our best going up against Thailand."
“Well, everyone saw how they played in the VNL. They are a very strong team; they went up against the strongest teams in the world. So, hindi sila basta-basta. They are a young team and they are very cohesive as they were playing for years. Hindi dapat kami magpabaya ng basta-basta.”
