Big leap for new handball body

After competing in its first ever international competition, the Philippine Handball Federation is determined to sustain its development and keep up with the rest of Southeast Asia as soon as possible.

“We have conducted seminars here for coaches and referees and put up our very own league, but before the year ended we were able to send our first team abroad,” said PHF president Steve Hontiveros. “That’s a big leap for a new NSA like us.”

The PH women’s team, also known as Amigas, finished third and last behind world class teams Vietnam and Thailand in the Southeast Asian Championships held last month in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.

PHF executive director Dr. Ernest Jay Adalem said the Amigas will be sent abroad to get them used to foreign competitions, including the Asian Beach Games slated later in the year.

Mentored by former national basketball and fencing champion Joanna Franquelli, the Amigas train thrice a week at Philsports Arena and University of Asia and the Pacific.

While they lost all their games, the Amigas received praises from the Thai and Vietnamese coaches who acknowledged  their remarkable level of skills despite being formed just two months before the tourney.