Alas Pilipinas Girls Under-17 set new Philippine benchmark in world stage of volleyball

THE Alas Pilipinas Girls flew to Chile armed with nothing but a dream.

They never imagined they would leave a lasting impact for Philippine volleyball to cherish for a very long time.

Whether it’s somewhere from ninth to 16^th place, the Filipinas have already set a new benchmark as the highest placed national team in the sport on the global stage.

The 25-21, 25-18, 25-14 loss to South Korea on Thursday in the Round of 16 of the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship at the Liceo Mixto Los Andes, while painful, has become inconsequential considering the legacy Alas would leave by just making it this far.

These young, valiant girls would be remembered for reaching what no other Philippine squad before them has reached before.

This extraordinary league of gentle ladies have just eclipsed the old standard set by the Bryan Bagunas-led men’s squad that finished 19^th in the FIVB Men’s World Championship the Philippines hosted last year and the women’s side that ended up 18^th in the 1974 Women’s World Championship in Mexico.

Alas will play Japan, another Asian powerhouse, in the losers’ quarterfinals on Friday at the National Stadium Park in the Chilean capital in Santiago.

The most that can happen for the Edwin Leyva-mentored Nationals is a ninth place finish, assuming they end up winning three straight matches starting with the Japanese.

But whatever happens, Alas had accomplished what it had originally set out for and would go home with one clear realization — dreams can come true. — Joey Villar