Alas Pilipinas’ Angel Canino in the AVC Challenge Cup 2024. –Photo by MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Considering the short amount of time that Alas Pilipinas had in preparation for the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup, its hopes for success were not the highest.
And there were even lower expectations for La Salle’s Angel Canino, who previously admitted that she was still not in top form and still recovering from a right arm injury. That wasn’t the case on Thursday night.
“I am very happy [with the win] because I was not expecting [a lot] from myself,” Canino said shortly after helping the Philippines to a come-from-behind 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 victory over a tall Australia side and get its bid off on the right foot before an appreciative home crowd at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
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The La Salle ace in the UAAP dropped 17 points built around 15 attacks, a block and an ace and made most of her damage in the third frame that gave Alas a one-set lead.
But Canino downplayed her impact on the match witnessed by 4,945 mostly Filipino crowd eager to watch Alas Pilipinas defend home turf.
“I would like to give credit to my teammates and coaches because they guided me inside and outside the court, so I am really thankful to them because they were there for me,” Canino said. “I think I am not the biggest reason [for the win].
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“The real big reason that we got the win is our teamwork, given our short time of preparations,” she added.
Alas captain Jia de Guzman, meanwhile, made sure that everyone got involved offensively with some brilliant setting in the final three sets.
Giving their all
Eya Laure was also relentless in piercing the Volleyroos’ defense, adding another 17 points, including six in the final frame that helped the Filipinos pull through.
Sisi Rondina was her typical explosive self in her indoor debut for the national team and came through with 16 points, shocking the Australians early in the game, while Thea Gagate manned the net so well and finished with four of the Philippines’ 12 blocks.
“It feels great [getting the opening game win] knowing especially that we didn’t have a lot of preparations coming here today,” de Guzman said. “Going to this game, we said that ‘regardless of what happens, as long as we leave our best on the floor, we are okay with whatever the result.’”
“Thankfully, the win went our way,” she added as Alas Pilipinas tries to take a piece of the Pool A lead battling current top team India (2-0) at press time on Friday.
Iran (1-1) sent Chinese-Taipei (0-3) to the brink of elimination after a 24-26, 25-20, 25-18, 28-26 beating in the first game of the day.
Asian powerhouse Vietnam (3-0) gained solo lead of Pool B after a straight sets victory over Kazakhstan (1-1), 25-14, 25-19, 14-25, 25-23, while Indonesia (1-1) notched its first win after a 25-14, 25-13, 25-14 triumph against Singapore (0-3).