They will fly home having left a legacy that Philippine volleyball will cherish for a very long time.
MANILA, Philippines — The Alas Pilipinas Girls flew to Chile armed with nothing but a dream.
They will fly home having left a legacy that Philippine volleyball will cherish for a very long time.
The 25-21, 25-18, 25-14 loss to South Korea in the Round of 16 of the FIVB Volleyball Girls U17 World Championship at the Liceo Mixto Los Andes yesterday was painful – but in the grander scheme, inconsequential.
Because win or lose from this point on, whether they finish ninth or 16th, these young Filipinas have made history.
They are now the highest-placed Philippine national volleyball team ever on the world stage.
No other squad has gone this far.
Not the Bryan Bagunas-led men’s team that finished 19th in the FIVB Men’s World Championship the Philippines hosted last year.
Not even the women’s team that placed 18th in the 1974 Women’s World Championship in Mexico – a standard that stood for 51 years.
Until now. Until this extraordinary league of gentle, valiant ladies shattered it.
Coached by Edwin Leyva, Alas Pilipinas showed grit, grace, and fearlessness against the world’s best – proving that heart can take you to places talent alone cannot.
Their journey isn’t over yet.
Alas battles another Asian powerhouse, Japan, today in the ninth-16th classification quarterfinals at the National Stadium Park in Santiago. The best-case scenario is a ninth-place finish, but that would require winning three straight against elite opposition.
Tall order. But then again, this team has made a habit of defying expectations.
Whatever happens in Santiago, Alas Pilipinas has accomplished what it set out to do. They came to Chile to chase a dream. They are leaving with proof that dreams do come true.