John Vic de Guzman digs for the ball during their match in the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championships. | Photo from Asian Volleyball Confederation
CEBU CITY, Philippines—- The Team Rebisco Philippines put on a gallant stand before losing to the Diamond Food VC,2-3, in the ongoing Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
In a nail-biting showdown on Monday, October 11, the Thais outlasted the Filipino spikers in five sets, 34-36, 26-25, 28-26, 19-25, 12-15.
It virtually sealed off Team Rebisco PHL’s preliminary round campaign under Pool B. They finished at the bottom of the rankings with,0-4, win-loss record.
They will play against Pool A’s bottom-ranked team to determine the 9th and 10th places in the entire competition.
Nevertheless, Team Rebisco Philippines showed a lot of heart despite losing three straight matches before facing the Thais.
Despite being winless, the team’s head coach Dante Alinsunurin is still satisfied with his team’s outing. He hopes that their program with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) will continue to improve.
“Everyone definitely performed. We have been through a lot since 2019, we would have wanted our program to continue nonstop but the pandemic spoiled all our plans,” Alinsunurin said.
“But with the results that we have seen since the first game, I am really contented because the players did everything they can.”
“This is our first time stepping in to a tournament of this scale,” he said. “I am really delighted with our team’s performance even when we did not win. We truly have learned a lot.”
Jao Umandal led Rebisco with 26 points, Mark Alfafara contributed 23 points, and team captain John Vic de Guzman tallied 16 points.
“This serves as a huge lesson for us all. We came here to compete and to learn, and exit the tournament with nothing but all the lessons we can gain,” Umandal said.
“This is the time for us to know our games better inside the court, and we will use this experience to further determine how we can improve ourselves.”
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