CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
BIÑAN, Laguna—Kim Yeon-koung is regarded as Korea’s top volleyball player and her accolades for both club and country could fill pages.
The Korean skipper is a multi-medal winner for Korea and has won numerous championships with cub Fenerbahce both in the domestic and continental stage.
And when Kim made her surprise appearance in the first set of the game between Korea and the Philippines in the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship, Jovelyn Gonzaga couldn’t help but feel blessed to be playing against the world’s greats.
READ: AVC: Philippines loses second straight as Korea stays undefeated
“We were joking inside the locker room that we should force Korea to bring in KYK because it’s almost a given that she won’t be playing,” said Gonzaga in Filipino Sunday at Alonte Sports Arena after their game.
“We said that our goal was to have Korea put in KYK in the second set, but when she stepped inside late in the first set we all looked at each other and said ‘goal!’ So it was really a morale-booster for us to play against her.”
Kim, however, wasn’t there to inspire the Philippines.
She was there to make life harder for the Filipinos and she did just that, finishing off the first set for Korea upon setting foot inside the court.
Kim would do the same in the second set as she led the Koreans to an eventual three-set sweep of the Philippines, 25-23, 25-18, 25-12.
“Personally, facing up against KYK was a huge challenge and when I blocked her that was really big for me.”