After series of heartbreaks, hard work yields medal for PH men’s volleyball

The Philippine men’s volleyball team celebrates a point against Thailand. INQUIRER PHOTO/AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines—After a long time, the Philippines is finally back on the men’s volleyball podium of the Southeast Asian Games.

The Philippines captured the silver medal in the 2019 Games after losing to Indonesia in straight sets, 25-21, 27-25, 25-17, but that runner-up finish still has a glimmer that shines like gold.

Slowly building up a program, the Philippines tried to make an impact in the 2015 and 2017 SEA Games but the country still fell into despair in the two regional meets.

“Maybe we still lacked what it takes in 2015 and 2017 but this year whoever you put in you’re confident that they will deliver,” said De Guzman in Filipino Tuesday at Philsports Arena.

“Huge thanks to coach Dante [Alinsunurin] because he and his team really filtered out the players and based everything on everyone’s skills and experiences. This is the product of all that wait in 2015 and 2017.”

The 2019 team had eight players who had already played in the SEA Games while the other six all had credible credentials in the collegiate and club circuits.

De Guzman, who came in as a substitute in the first and third sets, said that whoever is in the floor would be able to deliver and that Indonesia’s gold medal wasn’t handed easily.

“As I’ve said in the previous interviews, when we play every one of us has a bullet to shoot and we know that we can hurt our opponents,” said De Guzman who’s a champion MVP in the NCAA in 2017. “We battled against Indonesia and we got the silver medal out of that.”

The silver hardware, De Guzman said, was also the testament that men’s volleyball in the Philippines is on the rise and will continue to in the future.

“This is sweet even if we didn’t get the gold because this was what God gave us. Our plan from the start is to elevate the men’s volleyball industry in the country.”