Alas Pilipinas: We’ll be back!

NINTH place was never the original dream for Alas Pilipinas Women at the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games, where they set out to contend for a medal. However, after early losses in group play ended their quarterfinal hopes, it became the highest possible finish — and one they claimed with authority. Head coach Taka Minowa challenged the team to reset their focus after dropping matches to powerhouse China (18-25, 22-25, 8-25) and Kazakhstan (29-27, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19). Shifted into the classification stage, the Filipinas were given a new objective: win out and secure ninth place. They executed the plan flawlessly, sweeping all three of their remaining matches. After decisive victories over Qatar (25-8, 25-2, 25-9) and Mongolia (25-13, 25-11, 25-20), Alas Pilipinas capped off their tournament with a straight-sets win against Hong Kong, 25-21, 25-9, 30-28, at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Though missing out on the quarterfinals highlighted areas requiring growth — particularly consistency against elite opponents — the team views the experience as a crucial stepping stone. “Actually, we’re happy. Although that wasn’t our overall goal in the Asian Games, we’re happy with all our wins ... what we accomplished as a team and, of course, the learning experience,”...