The Philippine women’s volleyball team gears up for another tuneup match against a top-caliber Brazilian club on Tuesday, April 19 – one of five high-level matches on tap to whip up the squad in superior shape in time for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next month.
“We always add something new each time we go into practice,” said national team head coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito.
“I can see the improvement day by day, so when we play the next match, we’ll become better.”
The Philippine women’s team, bannered by Alyssa Valdez and Jaja Santiago, targets a podium finish for the first time in over a decade when the SEA Games rolls off in Vietnam on May 12-23.
The last time the national women’s spikers captured a medal in the regional showpiece was back in 2005 when it won a broze in the edition hosted by Manila.
Preparing for its next assignment, the team intensified its practice sessions over the weekend by giving importance to defense and tactics.
Middle blockers Santiago and Dell Palomata were bunched with open spikers Valdez and Ces Molina, opposite spiker Mylene Paat, setter Iris Tolenada and libero Dawn Macandili, who all worked on the defensive pattern instilled by the coaching staff.
The other group focused on ball control and receiving with open spiker Jema Galanza, opposite spiker Kat Tolentino, setter Kyle Negrito and libero Kath Arado teaming up with middle blockers Aby Maraño, Majoy Baron, and Ria Meneses.
“We did tactics in the morning and put all the guys together in the afternoon, but we used only five players on each side,’’ said Souza de Brito, who was assisted by coaches Odjie Mamon, Grace Antigua, Raffy Mosuela, Tina Salak, and therapist Grace Gomez.
“With five (players), you will do more using less guys. They have to move more, react more and cover more space than usual,” added the Brazilian tactician, who captured a gold medal with Brazil’s men’s volleyball team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
