Singapore volleyball boys ‘inspired’ by warm PH welcome

MARIKINA CITY, Philippines – Loud cheers were heard in the blocks surrounding the Marikina Sports Center (MSC). Passersby could have easily thought K-pop artists or local stars were inside the stadium. 

The cheers came from the volleyball court, in the match between the Singapore and Thailand boys teams.

It was a tight game that ended with the Thai team winning 3 sets. But more than their loss, the Singapore team was happy for the support they got from the audience, composed mostly of students.

Poon Pie Jie, who has been competing in the ASEAN Schools Games (ASG) for the past 3 years, said the Filipino support is the warmest he’s seen so far.

“I’m very happy that many people came down today. For the past few years, not many people attended the events. But for the Philippines, the crowd is very huge,” Jie said. 

Jie got roaring support whenever he served or scored in the game. He said the energy was “inspiring.”

“I think my performance today is very good and overall, my team played very well today. Thanks, in part, to our supporters,” he added.

Jie’s coach Hari Haran echoed the young spiker: “The crowd was awesome. We love the Philippines. The people are really nice.”

‘Head in the game’

Despite the warm support they got from fans, Haran said there’s more to improve in the team’s performance.  

“I think we tried our best against the offensively strong Thailand. We had to work on our defensive players. I think the boys did pretty well but there’s room for improvement and we’re looking at it now,” he added.

The team had been training for the ASG for the past 5 months. This year, they are gunning for the gold despite the students’ difficulty in balancing their academics. 

“We had to restructure our program to fit all since some kids were away for their exams and they only came back a week before ASG. This is difficult considering half of them are first timers,” he explained.

The 12-member team will have to beat Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia in their upcoming matches if they wish to make it to the finals. Haran said the team needs to change its strategy. 

“We are trying to work a bit more on our serving. We need aggressive serving. We will try to play some formation reception-wise,” Haran added.

Singapore sent 200 student-athletes from 48 secondary schools and junior colleges in the 6th ASG. The country has performed well in the past 5 games, winning a total of 66 gold medals. 

“We could be better and we will try to win gold,” Haran said. 

“More communication can be done to make our technique and formation stronger. As a team, we will prepare for the next matches,” Jie added. – Rappler.com