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Beach handball: How former Gilas Women assisted in milestone, and what lies next

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Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="From the Asian Handball Federation" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/04/12/20230412-beach-handballs.jpg"/><figcaption>From the Asian Handball Federation</figcaption></figure></div>The Philippine women’s beach handball team did well enough in the 9th Asian Women’s Beach Handball Championship in Bali, Indonesia last March to punch a ticket to the World Championships next year.But two months before the competition, the squad was racing against time.Playing coach Aurora “Aa” Adriano, a former Southeast Asian (SEA) Games women’s basketball silver medalist, was looking for athletes to complete the roster for the continental meet that served as the country’s first major event for the women’s side after the COVID-19 pandemic.Jana Franquelli, the National Team Program Director for handball, had assigned Adriano the tall task of coaching the women’s side while she was busy handling the men’s group herself. That was when Adriano turned to a familiar circle to form a competitive lineup.“I had to recruit talent transfers. Ang pinaka-close to handball is basketball. I was also a former basketball player, so I know the community,” Franquelli said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/02/21/beach-handball-body-ok-for-women-to-not-play-in-bikinis">Beach handball relents on insistence women play in bikinis</a></li></ul>Although the Philippine Handball Federation has been recognized as the country&#x27;s national governing body since 1990, the beach handball discipline is relatively new to Filipinos, only making its SEA Games debut in 2019 at home.“Aa was part of the coaching staff (for the men’s) then it was announced that there will be an Asian Championship for both men and women. Sabi ni Aa, she still wanted to play, and I know that she really wanted to. Wala lang opportunity (before),” said Franquelli.Franquelli played with current Gilas Pilipinas Women assistant Julie Amos for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 1995, and even switched to fencing to represent the country in the same regional competition in the 2000s.Adriano and Socorro Borja, a former FEU women’s basketball champion who also switched to beach handball, were the only holdovers from the members who played from 2014 to 2017.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/11/22/sea-games-ph-beach-handball-team-exceeded-expectations">SEA Games: Silver-winning PH beach handball team exceeded expectations</a></li></ul>When Franquelli spoke to Adriano about forming a squad, Adriano asked Borja to look for figures from women’s basketball willing to embrace a new sport and play at a high level.“Napag-usapan namin if she could form the team. Initiative niya ‘yun. At the beginning, the intent was to only form a women’s team,” Franquelli said. “Aa acted as the playing coach.”Borja got to invite three of her co-Army members on board: 2019 SEA Games women’s basketball gold medalist Mar Prado and former Lady Tamaraws Camille Sambile and Berns Mercado. Not long after, more names completed the women’s team, and preparation for the Asian Championship finally began.A handball coach for the College of San Benildo in Rizal, Adriano said getting individuals who are natural athletes was advantageous as the coaching staff did not need to work on the players’ strength and conditioning anymore.“‘Yung naging preparation namin, very short, two months lang. Challenging, struggle siya sakin. ‘Yung mga nakuha kong players is from basketball. I converted them to beach handball. ‘Yung two months na ‘yun na lahat ita-tackle ko, ‘yung rules, ‘yung 360, ‘yung in-flight, so sabi ko kay Soc, hanapan mo ako ng players na active,” she shared.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/10/22/sea-games-ph-beach-handball-cops-silver-in-vietnam">SEA Games: PH beach handball cops silver in Vietnam</a></li></ul>“Kung kukuha ako ng zero experience (as an athlete), mahihirapan akong mapaabot in two months sa desired condition, so dapat active na para kahit papa’no, kaunting strength and conditioning na lang, and andoon na.”Deeming that coaching alone wasn’t enough to bind the squad together, Adriano ultimately made the decision to suit up as a player for the Asian Championship to guide the rest of her teammates hands-on.“Habang nagte-training kami, nagko-coach ako, pero hindi nila nakikita ‘yung idea ng proper form, proper speed, spacing, iba pa rin ‘yung nagko-coach ako sa naglalaro ako. Kapag tine-training ko sila, sinasabayan ko sila,” she said. “In the end, sinabihan kung okay lang ba maglaro ako.”Adriano, now 37, detailed how she and Borja built this iteration of the women’s national team from scratch. In the first few weeks, they would watch the men’s squad to get an idea of how beach handball works, from its rules to specific strategies. From there, the players worked on their muscle memories and psyche, as the contingent went on to have a meaningful training camp in Zambales.“Mahirap, kasi karamihan sa kanila, military. Kailangan (i-sacrifice) ‘yung work. ‘Yung schedule, kailangan mag-come up with a fixed schedule ang lahat. ‘Yung skills, ‘yung rules, kasi nasanay silang mag-basketball, kapag pumipito ang referee, stop time, pero dito, hindi. Kapag narinig niyo ang whistle, tuloy-tuloy lang,” Adriano furthered.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/03/28/23/beach-handball-team-seeks-longer-preparation-for-world-tilt">PH women&#x27;s beach handball team seeks longer preparation for world tilt</a></li></ul>“Kapag nawala ka sa focus, matitirahan ka. ‘Yung skills ‘yung kinailangan naming bigyan ng focus, lalo na ‘yung pagtalon sa buhangin.”In the end, the two-month grind paid off. The Philippines finished with a 4-2 record for second spot, earning the squad a ticket to the prestigious World Championships next year in a host country yet to be determined.“Hindi pa rin nag-sisink in sa akin na magwo-worlds kami. Although kahit short preparation kami, I know binigay namin ang best namin from the trainings. The dedication, commitment, hard work, very important ‘yun, and talagang natuto sila sa sport,” Adriano said.“It’s an affirmation that we’re doing the right things and all the hard work paid off. ‘Yung development, matagal ‘yun. You can’t win instantly. This is proof that the program we designed for handball is effective,” Franquelli added.Strengthening the grassroots in the future – a program which should have already been in motion if it weren’t for the pandemic – is next. Franquelli and handball stakeholders in the country have the blueprint that shall elevate both indoor and beach handball to even greater heights -- with more homegrown players available to form the best national teams possible.“We had that plan for expansion after the (men’s beach handball) medal win in 2019. Lockdown happened. Everything came to a halt. Now that it is slowly opening up, next school year, we plan to revive the Handball at School program, we plan to expand to several areas,” she said.“Ang crucial doon is the collaboration. We’re really in discussions with areas where we will expand. We will expand definitely. This summer, we will focus on expansion. We want to make sure the activities are of quality and make impact.”<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oJjw5oL2ZaE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div> </div>

The Philippines finished with a 4-2 record for second spot, earning the squad a ticket to the prestigious World Championships next year.