‘We’re here to fight, learn’: Valdez, PH volleybelles unfazed after loss

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BIÑAN, Laguna—The Philippines just absorbed a disappointing loss at the hands of Kazakhstan in the Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship, 25-23, 25-20, 25-19, but Alyssa Valdez remains unfazed.

“We’re here to learn, we’re here to fight, we’re here to win,” said Valdez Friday at Alonte Sports Arena here. “Teamwork will bring us to a good finish, and we’ll give our 101 percent to achieve that.”

“That’s what we want to show to the people, that we will fight.”

The Philippines finished the group stage with a 1-1 record and trail the 2-0 Kazakhs in Pool A.

Valdez, who scored a combined 28 points in the both games, hopes they can bring whatever lessons they learned in their loss to Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals where they are set to face Pool C leaders Korea.

“There comes a point where you just tell yourself that we should just accept the challenges and learn the lessons we need to advance,” said Valdez in Filipino. “This is still a long tournament, this isn’t the end.”

“This is the first time that this group has been together to represent the country and I hope this continues until we achieve that perfect chemistry.”