Philippine women’s volleyball team tries to sharpen its skills as it plays another friendly in Osaka pic.twitter.com/PcN4A2zIJU
— Marc Anthony Reyes (@marcreyesINQ) July 26, 2017
National team head coach Francis Vicente has been impressed with his squad so far in its Japanese training camp as they prepare for two international competitions set in August.
Despite losing to Kobe Shinwa Women’s University in five sets, 19-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-23, 15-8, Vicente said their tune-up game served its purpose of allowing him to experiment with different rotations that can adapt to fast-paced play.
“We may have lost the match, but I still like what I saw,” said Vicente. “We know that Kobe Shinwa is a very tough team and it plays fast and aggressive.”
“The mere fact that we were able to match their speed and discipline is a positive development.”
Jaja Santiago became the Philippines’ focal point in offense as she put up 17 points while Alyssa Valdez and Jovelyn Gonzaga finished with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Kim Fajardo orchestrated the offense for the national team with 37 excellent sets to go along six points.
