The Philippines national women’s volleyball team has decided to skip the opening ceremonies of the 2018 Asian Games scheduled Saturday night.
The team, which is fresh off a training camp in Japan, wants to dedicate all its time preparing for its first match against continental juggernaut Thailand on Sunday.
“That’s the consensus of the team,” said ThailandLVPI president Cayco. “We need this training session because the game on Sunday will be very tough and as much as possible we want to make an impression that we also deserve to here.”
Unlike Thailand which has established itself as a volleyball powerhouse in the region, the Philippines’ is only playing the Asian Games volleyball tournament for the first time after 36 years.
Cayco said the mere fact that there was a Philippine team in the women’s volleyball tournament was already an achievement.
“Our players were not born yet the last time we played in the Asian Games so making it here already is a major achievement,” said Cayco.
The Philippines’ next games after its match against Thaiand are against Japan on Tuesday, Hong Kong on Thursday, and Indonesia in Saturday and Cayco said their goal is to make the quarterfinals.
“If we beat Hong Kong, we’ll get to the quarterfinals. I also think we can get past Indonesia.”