PH Ultimate Frisbee teams aim for podium finish at WFDF 2019 AOUGC
Published Jun 24, 2019 12:00 am
by Brian Yalung
After podium finishes at the WFDF 2019 Asia Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championships held in Shirahama, Japan, the Pilipinas Ultimate Frisbee teams are looking to ride on their success at the upcoming Asia-Oceana meet that will be held in Shanghai, China from July 23 to 27.
The Pilipinas Ultimate Frisbee men's team are fresh from successfully defending their crown as Beach Kings of Asia at the 2019 Asia Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championships after defeating Japan, 12-6.
"Ginawa lang namin was no in-cuts and preventing them to catch our deep throws. Pero sa match-ups naman, kayang-kaya naman ng team depensehan mga deep throws nila," said Kenneth De Guzman, Spirit Captain, PH National Ultimate Frisbee Men's team.
("We just prevented them from making in-cuts and preventing them from catching deep throws. But in terms of match-ups, we were able to defend their deep throws well")
The Philippines also came away with the gold medal in the mixed category, outlasting Japan 10-8 in the tournament held from June 13 to 16. The women's team settled for the bronze medal after downing Singapore, 8-7.
"Japan really play good team defense. So what we were really trying to do was to maximized our offense. So if you noticed team Philippines, maingay (noisy) din sidelines namin. It's not just the five people inside but also including the sidelines. And we really capitalized on our key players," said Chlods Manguerra, Spirit Captain of the PH National Ultimate Frisbee mixed team.
Pilipinas Ultimate Frisbee Women's team in deep training at the Corinthian Gardens fields (photo by Brian Yalung)
However, the road to their podium finishes were not easy due to the weather conditions at the time.
"There was a day (semifinals game) where we were really bothered and the odds were against us. We were playing against a taller Australian team and the windy condition really favored them. They were up 4-1 but we ended up 8-7. Mas umiyak (cried) pa kami nung semifinals kesa sa finals because it was really a tough game for us," recalled Manguerra.
Now, the Pilipinas Ultimate Frisbee squads turn their focus at the coming WFDF 2019 Asia Oceanic Ultimate & Guts Championships in China where Manguerra feels that they can perform better.
"Compared to the previous years, masasabi ko talaga may laban tayo (I can say that we have a fighting chance) not just for the men's and mixed teams but also for the women's teams. We have high hopes of getting a podium finish," said Manguerra.
There will be more than 20 teams for each division with at least 10 countries joining the Asia Oceana tournament in China. With games now being played on grass fields, Manguerra sees defending champion Chinese Taipei, Japan and Australia as the main obstacles for the team Philippines to achieving another podium finish.
Pilipinas Ultimate Frisbee Women's team in deep training at the Corinthian Gardens fields (photo by Brian Yalung)
However, the road to their podium finishes were not easy due to the weather conditions at the time.
"There was a day (semifinals game) where we were really bothered and the odds were against us. We were playing against a taller Australian team and the windy condition really favored them. They were up 4-1 but we ended up 8-7. Mas umiyak (cried) pa kami nung semifinals kesa sa finals because it was really a tough game for us," recalled Manguerra.
Now, the Pilipinas Ultimate Frisbee squads turn their focus at the coming WFDF 2019 Asia Oceanic Ultimate & Guts Championships in China where Manguerra feels that they can perform better.
"Compared to the previous years, masasabi ko talaga may laban tayo (I can say that we have a fighting chance) not just for the men's and mixed teams but also for the women's teams. We have high hopes of getting a podium finish," said Manguerra.
There will be more than 20 teams for each division with at least 10 countries joining the Asia Oceana tournament in China. With games now being played on grass fields, Manguerra sees defending champion Chinese Taipei, Japan and Australia as the main obstacles for the team Philippines to achieving another podium finish.