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Power Pinays bow to Japan, relegated to battle for 5th to 8th in Asian women’s club volleyball tourney

MATCHES TODAY (Thursday, April 24th at the Nakhompathom Gym)

10:00AM (11:00AM Philippine time) IND vs. SIN (Final for 9th place)

12:00NN (1:00PM Philippine time) PHI vs. VIE (Semifinal, 5th-8th)

2:00PM (3:00PM Philippine time) IRI vs. THA (Semifinal, 5th-8th)

4:00PM (5:00PM Philippine time) JPN vs. KAZ (Semifinal, 1st-4th)

6:00PM (7:00PM Philippine time) CHN vs. TPE (Semifinal, 1st-4th)

The intrepid attempt at the crown is over for the PLDT Home TVolution-Philippines Power Pinays as they are sent to the classification rounds by Hisamitsu Springs-Japan via a 25-7, 25-13, 25-12 whipping in the knockout quarterfinal stage of the 17th Princess Cup-Chang Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Nakhompathom, Thailand.

Despite the cheers of more than a hundred Filipinos—some coming from as far away as Chang Mai—the Power Pinays were totally outmatched in their bid to advance in this prestigious annual tournament, organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC). Everyone saw action for the Japanese as early as the second set as the reigning two-time Japan V-Premier League titlists made it clear from the onset who the superior squad was.

So dominant was the height, skill level and overall execution by Hisamitsu that Head Coach (and former Olympian) Kumi Nakada opted to bench star player (and Olympic veteran) Risa Shinnabe in the latter two sets as she gave her developing youngsters the much needed international exposure that will help them progress faster as members of the national team.

Everyone, with the exception of libero Sayaka Tsutsui was able to score for the Japanese contingent as they now gear up for their semifinal showdown against the dangerous and unpredictable Zhetyssu-Kazakhstan squad, which defeated the heady Lienvietpostbank-Vietnam team 25-27, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18. The Vietnamese—representing the second strongest women’s volleyball nation in Southeast Asia—now take on the Power Pinays in the semis of the classification phase for fifth to eighth place.

The winner of that match-up goes on to battle the victor of the Matin Varamin-Iran/Nakhor Ratchasima-Thailand tiff as the shocked local crowd fell silent after Chinese Taipei bucked a first set loss to take the next three set and a date with Bohai Bank Tianjin-China; Iran’s vanquishers. Should the Filipinas come up short against Vietnam, there is a good chance they will be facing the Iranians in the final encounter for seventh place—just like the Power Pinoys recently.

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Three-time Olympic champion Regla Bell-Mackenzie was the lone source of offense for the Power Pinays as the Cuban superstar came away with a game-high eleven points. No other Philippine player scored more than three points in the losing effort.

It was also the first time in the tournament that a team failed to register a single block point as the Power Pinays were blanked in that department 5-0 by the longer and craftier Japanese. Hisamitsu also forced the Philippines into 22 errors while as a team the Japanese only committed a grand total of eleven. The carnage was over in exactly 56 minutes.

But while the Power Pinays may have been foiled in their bid for the title, the learning has just begun as in the two remaining matches they have, they’ll be getting more opportunities to realign with the best of the continent. Whether it be battling for fifth place (should they manage to get by the Vietnamese—which will be a huge positive in itself) or for seventh place, the experience points will just continue piling up for the fledgling national program.

There are still many tournaments in the horizon for the Philippines and the new leadership of the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) will be keeping track of the little advancements garnered in each and every international exposure of the country.

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Against Vietnam, the Power Pinays will be wary of world class open-spiker Do Thi Minh who unleashed twenty markers in the loss to Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. She had just come off a stellar 30-point performance in the upset triumph against the host nation and will be primed for another monster game, unless the Filipinas’ net defenses make a stand.

The Vietnamese middle attackers have also improved since we first saw them at the AVC Zonal Qualifiers in Quang Tri almost a year ago. Bui Thi Nga and Pham Thi Yen—who along with Do are national team mainstays—have began using their length to their advantage and have become a lot quicker, pardon the pun. The outstanding playmaking of Dao Thi Huyen and floor defense leadership of the feisty Pham Thi Lien (many say a cross between Jen Reyes and Melissa Gohing) have made all the ingredients come together for the Lienvietpostbank squad.

Supposed Power Pinays starting opposite hitter Jovelyn Gonzaga is now back to almost full strength—as evidenced by her floor time during the quarterfinals. PLDT Home TVolution Head Coach Sammy Acaylar will need the 21-year-old Guimarasnon’s speed and agility in trying to diffuse some of Do’s prowess. Jaja Santiago’s 6’6” frame will be much needed, but also the coverage team behind will have to react to errant deflection owing to the Vietnamese’s known power. That means a lot of looks for former skipper Angge Tabaquero in the backrow as a substitute (she’s still nursing that debilitating shoulder injury) and perhaps again a mix-and-match situation with liberos Jheck Dionela (who has been seeing more court time of late) and veteran Lizlee Ann Gata-Pantone.

On offense, it’s all in the hands of Bell-Mackenzie and setter Misao Tanyama. The 35-year-old Japanese orchestrator has shown to be effective even if the first ball is not dug or received ideally and the 43-year-old Cuban has shown that she can detonate anything. However, the firepower of Gonzaga, present skipper Rachel Anne Daquis and the grizzled warriors Suzanne Roces and Mary Jean Balse may become a needed necessity for the Filipinas to pull the rug from under its Asean rival. After that (win or lose) a truckload of experience points will again become available for the team’s final match of the nine-day tourney.

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Do tell me how it goes, though.

I will be broadcasting the action from the Shakey’s V-League while the Power Pinays-Vietnam encounter is ongoing. I’ll also be breaking in my newest partner “Attorney” Angeline “Dzi” Gervacio as the television analyst, so blow a little luck her way as well.

BOXSCORES:

(Quarterfinals) Hisamitsu Springs-Japan def. PLDT Home TVolution-Philippines—25-7, 25-13, 25-12

JPN—Nomoto 8, Ishii 7, Ishida 7, Mizuta 7, Hirai 6, Iwasaka 5, Nagaoka 4, Shinnabe 4, Kotoh 3, Kano 1, M. Tsutsui 1, S. Tsutsui (L) 0.

PHI—Bell-Mackenzie 11, Santiago 3, Daquis 2, Roces 2, Balse 1, Tubino 1, Argarin 1, Gata-Pantone (L) 0, Dionela (L) 0, Tanyama 0, Gonzaga 0, Tabaquero 0.

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com