Handball girls make mark anew, set Worlds focal point

Aurora Adriano has instilled a tradition of luck amongst her teammates, person who rewarded the Philippine girls’s handball crew with any other podium efficiency at the continental level.

With that silver end on the just-concluded 10th Asian Beach Handball Championships in Muscat, Oman, there’s definitely in Adriano’s thoughts that self-trust will likely be carried over to their long term assignments, particularly subsequent 12 months’s international championships, the place the Philippines will make any other look.

“Our goal is not just to play, we want to win. We aim to be the best, everything we do is focused on that,” Adriano instructed the Inquirer.

The Filipinos toppled India and Hong Kong two times within the initial rounds however confronted a cast core from Vietnam, which ultimately took the gold medal.

Nathalia Prado and Adriano joined fingers with Zhalyn Mateo, Bernadette Mercado, Mary Grace Berte, Rapril Aguilar of their 2d medal efficiency since they captured a bronze medal within the Southeast Asian Championships closing February in Thailand.

“We spent time focusing on the improvement of individual skills and how the team can maximize each one’s strength. During the game, we try to execute the game plan and adjust when needed,” mentioned Adriano, a former member of the PH girls’s basketball crew.

Also a part of this medal-winning squad had been Gretchie Roque, Josephine Ong and Jane Varguez, whilst the training group of workers, led via Joanna Franquelli, along with goalkeeper trainer Luzviminda Pacubas and energy and conditioning trainer Gabriel Montini De Guzman, did a very best effort.

“Going to this (Asian) championship, our aim was to qualify and we did. The new team members were able to gain experience and we still have enough time to prepare for the world championships,” mentioned Franquelli, additionally a former basketball standout.

Team Philippines certified for the 2026 World Women’s Handball Championships after closing 12 months’s silver efficiency within the Asian championships.

“For now, we will shift the focus on indoor handball and the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games. We’re optimistic that we will perform well given adequate support,” mentioned Franquelli.

The country has been making nice strides within the Olympic crew recreation, with the boys’s crew putting gold within the closing SEA championships in Thailand in October.

The girls’s crew additionally took the silver all the way through the former Asian championships in Bali, Indonesia, to qualify for the 2024 international championships, the place they positioned 12th. INQ