THE Philippine netball team hopes to pick up from where it left off as it eyes a modest finish in its next major international campaign next year.
Siklab Pilipinas is looking to repeat its modest finish in the just concluded Asian Netball Championships as it vies in the 2023 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Thailand.
The Filipinas bagged a plate title in the Asian meet after a sweep of Maldives (59-41) and Brunei (40-37) in Group F during the second round of the competitions held at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
They split their games against India (45-41) and Sri Lanka (99-37), relegating them in the group plate.
They later repeated against Brunei in the playoffs (42-38) to finish fifth overall, a marked improvement from a ninth-place finish in the 2018 edition of the tournament.
Sri Lanka beat host Singapore, 63-53, for the title.
Their morale and confidence boosted, members of the Siklab team are looking to do well in the AIMAG considering the one-year preparation it will have prior to the November 17 to 26 meet.
“We’ll aim to improve on what we achieved in the Asian netball,” coach Piao Fedillaga told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday, a day after arriving from Singapore.
Team captain Ken Lomogda seconded her coach.
“Yes we can, we’ll work on it,” Lomogda said in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Amelie Hotel Manila, and Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp.
Former Perlas Pilipinas player Vangie Soriano joined them in the forum.
Siklab will face the same teams in the AIMAG as the top eight finishers in the Asian netball earned a slot to the quadrennial showpiece originally set last March, but was deferred for next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brunei, Maldives and India also competed in the event.
Soriano said with netball out of the Cambodia 2023 Southeast Asian Games, Siklab will focus on the AIMAG.
Overseas training is in the pipeline, according to Fedillaga, with Singapore as the team’s likely destination.
“Singapore’s always been helping us in netball. We need to reach out to club teams to help us out, for tune-up and catch-up games. We don’t have those here at home,” added the netball coach, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Netball Federation under president Atty. Charlie Ho, and the local government of Sta. Rosa, Laguna, for supporting Siklab.