Creamline's Atienza steps up in national team debut vs Vietnam
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine women's national volleyball team fell to Vietnam in three sets at the start of their campaign in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup for Women campaign at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Sunday.
But there were more than a couple of bright spots for the hastily assembled national team, led by Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference champions Creamline Cool Smashers.
One of the promising performances that the Philippines gained against Vietnam in the opener was libero Kyla Atienza's tremendous floor defense for the Filipinas.
Asked about her performance after the game, the PVL champion said that she was simply trying to provide the support that she can for her team.
"Inisip ko lang po kasi mag-enjoy lang sa game kasi nga parang mas kailangan po ako ng team ngayon," Atienza said.
"Maraming pinagdadaanan ang team kailangan namin mag-step up," she added.
The Cool Smashers, who banner the flag of the Philippines in the regional tiff, are bucking exhaustion after needing to compete in the tournament barely a week after winning the PVL Invitational Conference.
They were also hit with health issues as team captain Alyssa Valdez was ruled out of the competition due to dengue. Middle blocker Risa Sato will also be missing out on the games due to health and safety protocols.
Setter Jia Morado-de Guzman and head coach Sherwin Meneses were also absent against Vietnam but aim to return at some point in the competition.
Still, Atienza said there is much to be happy about with the way that the team was able to compete against the Vietnamese, including a third set which they extended until the visitors finally closed out the sweep, 31-29.
The gutsy performance, according to Atienza, is the product of the program long laid out for the Cool Smashers.
"Sobrang naging proud po ako kasi lumaban kami hanggang dulo kahit na hindi kami ganoon ka kumpleto pero alam naman po namin 'yung bonding talaga namin as a team," she said.
The Philippines hope to stage an emphatic upset to barge into the win colum in the AVC Cup for Women when they face five-time champions China on Tuesday at the same venue.
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