Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22) – The Philippine handball team will shoot for another medal opportunity in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam next month.
The core of the Philippine handball squad which took the bronze medal honors in 2019 at home soil will return in Vietnam, national team head coach Jana Franquelli told CNN Philippines.
Jamael Pangandaman, Josef Valdez, Mark Dubouzet, Rey Tabuzo, and Manuel Lasangue Jr. comprise half of the team’s members to be sent to Hanoi.
Former University of the Philippines cager Andrew Harris will again see action along with Dhane Varela, Van Jacob Baccay, John Michael Pasco, and Daryoush Zandi.
“We truly believe we will get a podium finish and our main goal is to reach for gold this upcoming SEA Games,” Harris said.
Franquelli, also the national team training director of the Philippine Handball Federation, said the team is on a training bubble in Zambales.
In preparation for the biennial regional sports event, the national squad competed in the 8th Asian Men’s Beach Handball Championship last March 22-28 at Tehran, Iran.
In their first competition after the 2019 SEA Games, the Filipinos finished fifth out of six teams and notched a lone win at the expense of India.
“I am very confident with our progress as a team. Even with the short preparation, we were able to gauge ourselves during the 8th Asian Beach Handball Championship in Iran against the top teams in Asia,” Harris said.
Vietnam and Thailand bagged the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the inaugural SEA Games beach handball competition in 2019 at Subic Bay.
The beach handball team is among the first Philippine teams to see action in the Hanoi SEA Games, set on May 5-11, or way before the event’s opening ceremony on May 12.
