KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippine women’s volleyball team hopes to start its medal bid right when it battles Malaysia today in the 29th Southeast Asian Games women’s volleyball competition at the MITEC Hall 8 here.
The star-studded Nationals take on the Malaysians at 2 p.m. in what is seen as an appetizer before taking on heavyweight Vietnam and facing either Indonesia or Thailand in the sudden-death semifinals.
Bannered by skipper Mika Reyes, hopes are high for the Nationals to make it to the podium after a 17-day training in Japan and a good showing in the recent 19th AVC Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Binan City where it beat Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Head coach Francis Vicente said he likes the performance of his wards in the Asian tourney, but the real yardstick is the SEA Games, where they are gunning for least a bronze medal – for the first time since the 23rd edition in Manila in 2005.