At A Glance
- Determined to improve their 12th-place finish in their maiden appearance in the biennial meet, the Amigas shrugged off a lackluster start before bouncing back in the second frame as Zhalyn Mateo and Josephine Ong formed a deadly 1-2 combo and delivered back-to-back points to edge out the formidable Brazilians.
Philippine women's handball team
The Philippine women’s handball team dug deep and stunned three-time champion Brazil, 14-26, 23-22, 7-6, to keep its podium bid alive in the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia Thursday, June 25.
Determined to improve their 12th-place finish in their maiden appearance in the biennial meet, the Amigas shrugged off a lackluster start before bouncing back in the second frame as Zhalyn Mateo and Josephine Ong formed a deadly 1-2 combo and delivered back-to-back points to edge out the formidable Brazilians.
Those gallant efforts resulted in a shootout where the Nationals escaped Brazil to bolster their quarterfinal hopes in the six-day meet.
The victory marked the first time that the PH squad beat a world champion in the global tournament. It also improved their win-loss record to 1-3 in the main draw round as they face Norway in Group II at press time.
They finished the first stage with a 1-2 mark in Group D.
Mateo led the offense for the country after scoring 16 points, while Aurora Adriano backed her up with 15. Ong posted 11 points, while Raina Vergino contributed two.
Beatriz Correia and Patricia Scheppa had 20 and 12 points in a losing cause for Brazil.