PH Lady Volcanoes snare silver in 2018 Asia Trophy Series

MANILA, Philippines – The Lady Volcanoes, the Philippines’ women’s rugby team, impressed in the 2018 Asia Trophy Series in Brunei after striking silver on Sunday, October 21. 

Winning 5 straight games, the Lady Volcanoes were groomed to pocket the gold medal but fell short to Malaysia, 7-10, in the championship round of the 10-country tournament. 

“[A]lthough we wish the final result was different, I couldn’t be more proud of how the team performed overall,” said Philippine team head coach Ada Milby. 

“Not only is it the best result the team has ever had in a single tournament, the entire team was composed of Philippine homegrown players.” 

The Filipinas had their way against Uzbekistan (12-10), Pakistan (38-0), India (17-10) and Nepal (43-0) in Group B to secure a seat in the semifinals, where they toppled Guam, 10-7, to set a finals date with Malaysia. 

Trailing 0-5 in the championship duel, the Lady Volcanoes seized a 7-5 lead but the Malaysians proved the better team in the endgame to hack out the victory. 

Despite the loss, Milby bared the country’s rugby program is “on track” for a competitive rematch against Malaysia in the Southeast Asian Games in 2019. 

Following to the sports’ growth in the Philippines, the U-18 national team will travel to India on Wednesday, October 24, to compete in the U-18s Asia Sevens Championships in Bhubaneswar. – Rappler.com