Fibr-Philippines defeats Sri Lanka in AVC Women’s Volleyball tilt Classification Round
The Philippines scored its first victory by upending Sri Lanka 19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11 in the Classification Round in ongoing Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship at the MCC Hall in Nakhor Ratchasima, Thailand.
The Power Pinays—backed by broadband giant PLDT HOME Fibr—is in Classification Group H (composed of the two teams relegated from Group B—Philippines and India—and Group D—Sri Lanka and Myanmar).
According to reports from the competition site by Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) media man Mark Dionisio, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas played a stellar game for the Power Pinays as she consistently bombarded the Sri Lankans all throughout the match. Maizo-Pontillas, a former stalwart of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), scored a game-high 22 points and was responsible for keeping the Filipinas afloat with her timely hits on incredible sets from veteran playmaker—and former De La Salle University (DLSU) skipper—Chie Saet. Maizo-Pontillas scored four of the last six points for the Philippines in the decider, including a cross-court detonation that started a Power Pinays rally, down 9-11.
Sri Lanka—the thirteenth-ranked nation in Asia—never scored again after that.
Maizo-Pontillas also did her share of helping star libero Tatan Gata-Pantone patrol the back-row, much to the delight of Power Pinays Head Coach Nes Pamilar.
“No doubt she played her greatest game,” Pamilar said to Dionisio, in the vernacular. “She stood by all her vows that she’d be working the back row (floor) defense.”
With sixteen points from attacks, five points from blocks and a service ace, Maizo-Pontillas’ unsung floor defense requires special mention, but her overall impact was key in the win.
The Filipinas also got a big boost from injured skipper Angge Tabaquero as she defied doctors’ advice and played despite a severe ankle sprain.
Tabaquero—also a former Tigress—got sidelined for the final preliminary macth against defending champion China after sustaining the injury in the second set of that bitter defeat against Iran last Saturday (September 14th). She started and despite being a little gimpy due to the pain finished with an amazing 19 markers on practically one leg. Quite a heroic performance for someone who was not even supposed to suit up.
Power hitters Joy Benito and Royse Tubino added eleven and ten points, respectively, for the Filipinas as all that saw action did their own little thing to help the cause.
“Siyempre sa dami ng nagda-doubt sa kakayahan nung team, masaya na nakapanalo kami,” were the EXACT WORDS Maizo-Pontillas told Dionisio, after the match—obviously irate at some people in social media mocking the team’s abilities. “Hindi madali lumaban kung pati kababayan mo dina-down ka. Pero laban, sige lang ng sige!”
With the win, the Philippines picks up some all-important “points” in this round.
In this phase, teams carryover their points attained against the other team that also fell short of the quarterfinals—in this case, its Group B co-relegated India, which lost to Iran on the final day of the prelims. The two relegated teams from the former Group B take on the two relegated teams from the former Group D and after which the points attained from the round will be summed up and match-ups will be created for the knockout stages—final rankings.
India’s straight-sets victory over the Philippines in the prelims gave them three points and the Power Pinays garnered none. But by virtue of the win over the Sri Lankans, the Philippines also notched three points of its own and is finally in contention in Group H.
However, the Filipinas only achieved a tie for third place in the group with the win over Sri Lanka as another five-set drama actually unfolded prior to their tiff.
Myanmar and India—the other Group H pairing—also went the distance with the Burmese prevailing, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-12, in a match that more than eclipsed the two-hour mark. The victory by Myanmar (the winless team to emerge from Group D after losing to Sri Lanka in straight-sets) also gave them their first three points of the tournament. However, since both the wins by Myanmar and the Philippines were achieved in five sets, one point was awarded to both Sri Lanka and India, hence the present standings are as follows:
GROUP H:
#1 India—4 points
#1 Sri Lanka—4 points
#3 Myanmar—3 points
#3 Philippines—3 points
The Power Pinays encounter against Mynamar later (September 17th) will loom large on the points for the knockout stages, as well as India’s clash with its island neighbor Sri Lanka. A victory by the Philippines would give it a favorable match-up against the lower seeded teams coming out of Group G—comprised of Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Mongolia.
“If we beat Myanmar (today), we’ll be battling for placing,” Pamilar said in Tagalog. “We have a chance to place as high as ninth or as low as twelfth.”
Pamilar is also reminded of the second “condition” set by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to the PVF, in the event that the Philippines does not advance to the quarterfinals—which happened.
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“If we rank higher than Indonesia and Myanmar, we are virtually assured of being sent to the SEA Games,” he reiterated. “That’s how crucial our ranking will be.”
The Shakey's V-League selection that saw action in the AVC Zonal Qualifiers in Quang Tri, Vietnam won over the Burmese in four sets.
That will also be a marked improvement from the country’s current #16 rank in Asia—enough to get the last invitation to this biennial meet. The match between the Power Pinays and the Burmese is scheduled for 6:00PM, Manila time still at the MCC Hall—the secondary venue of the tilt. There is no television coverage available at the secondary site.
You may follow the match on Twitter through this account: @Benggadora08
The Power Pinays are a win away from an opportunity to progress in the Asian level. Let’s take heed from Aiza Maizo-Pontillas’ justified and semi-disgruntled statement.
We don't need people being negative about the efforts of those trying to create a positive outcome. Let’s support OUR team. They are OFFICIALLY representing THE PHILIPPINES.
Let’s be united Filipinos—for once.
BOXSCORES:
GROUP H (Classification Round): Philippines def. Sri Lanka—19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11
PHI—Maizo-Pontillas 22, Tabaquero 19, Benito 11, Tubino 10, Eulalio 7, Saet 2, Datuin 1, Macatuno 1, Gata-Pantone (L) 0, Soriano 0, Gendrauli 0.
SRI—Somarathna 19, Madumali 12, Chamarika 8, Rathnasiri 7, Umayangani 6, Perera 5, Jinadari (L) 0, Dilhani 0.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
