INQUIRER Sports

GAMES SUNDAY (PhilSports Arena)
10 a.m. -- Iran vs.Thailand
12 n.n. -- Kazakhstan vs. China
2 p.m. -- Sri Lanka vs. Philippines
4 p.m. -- Japan vs. India

IT TOOK A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR FOR Philippine coach Francis Vicente to size up the opposition and assess the country’s chances in the 7th Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championships.

“Our team will make the quarterfinals,” Vicente boldly predicted after watching a towering Australian squad score a trouble-free 25-21, 25-17, 25-20 victory over Sri Lanka in just 71 minutes at the start of hostilities at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The RP girls open their campaign against Sri Lanka at 2 p.m. today with a victory shoving them in the quarterfinals of the 12-nation tournament for girls’ 16-years-old and below.

“I’m confident that we can beat Sri Lanka,” said Vicente, who is handling an RP team that has an average height of 5-foot-9. “They (Sri Lanka) are not a strong team.”

Vicente, also the coach of the University of Santo Tomas high school girls’ squad, described the Aussies as “tall but soft.”

Whether or not Vicente’s statement holds water will be known when the Filipinos play the Aussies at 5 p.m. on Monday.

The Filipinos will be spearheaded by six-foot-1 Allona Santiago, six-footer Aerial Patnogon and Midori Hirotsoji and Joyce Palad, who both stand five-foot-10, as well as Patty Orendain.

Indonesia and Korea hammered out tough five-set victories in other opening-day matches.

The Indonesians, led by the power-hitting duo of Maya Kurnia Indri Sari and Sulistianti Samogoi, were the most impressive as they fought back from two sets down to nip a stubborn India squad, 25-22, 31-29, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13, in close to two hours in Pool B play.