AVC Cup: Close to defeat, Tots Carlos keeps faith in team

MANILA, Philippines — On the verge of defeat, Tots Carlos knew that the Philippine women’s volleyball team could pull off a comeback win over Australia in the AVC Cup.

After all, the team is made up of players who have gone through a lot of battles.

“We learned a lot because we experienced a lot of systems from several opponents. So from there, we pick up some of the systems that we could apply and how we can adjust in certain situations,” said Carlos after a 21-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-18, 15-12 victory over Australia on Sunday at PhilSports Arena.

“Our coaches also did well, they know what to do in a certain situation and we really believe in them and we just really try our best to make all the Filipinos proud,” she added.

The two-time Premier Volleyball League MVP joined hands with Jema Galanza to spark the Cool Smashers’ comeback from a 1-2 match deficit, where they even trailed as many as 3-15 in the third set.

Carlos sealed their fightback with a strong spike in the decider to advance to the battle for fifth place against Chinese Taipei on Monday at 1 p.m.

It felt like a championship win for the star wing spiker.

“Of course, we’re really happy as coach Sherwin (Meneses) told us, championship game today. So we feel like we won the championship,” Carlos said.

With a chance to give the Philippines a fifth-place finish as it already surpassed its previous ninth place in 2018, Carlos is grateful for the opportunity to represent the country and learn from the Asian squads.

“We’re grateful that we’re here. And we’ll try to absorb the things that we need to learn. As personal athletes, we saw the system of other teams,” the University of the Philippines standout said. “We’re really grateful that we get to experience this as a team. We’re really happy to help the volleyball community.”

“Like what we always say, we’re just really happy to be here to represent the flag. We hope that we’re making the Filipinos proud,” she added.