Menta satisfied with Foton Pilipinas’ showing in loss to Kazakhs

Foton Coach Fabio Menta.

BIÑAN Laguna-If there’s one takeaway from Foton Pilipinas’ three-set loss to Kazakhstan’s Altay VC, it’s that it was the best game the Filipinos played in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Asian Women’s Club Championship.

Fabio Menta, the Italian head coach of the Tornadoes, said he was impressed with how his team played despite losing 27-25, 25-18, 25-21.

“I’m quite satisfied, Kazakhstan is the better team,” said Menta. “This is the first match we’ve played where the other team is taller than us.”

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Foton Pilipinas opened its campaign with a resounding sweep of the shorter Hong Kong but it lost to Japan and Vietnam who were almost as tall as the Tornadoes with the Altay VC the only team which had the visible height advantage over the hosts.

Those two losses, though, were played without injured import Lindsay Stalzer.

“I’m satisfied because we did very well in the first set, and quite well in the third,” said Menta.

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Even Altay VC head coach Burhan Saik Canbolat only had positive things to say about the Tornadoes.

“The Philippine team is a very good team, and this game is the best game they played,” said Canbolat.