The Philippine women’s beach handball team is gearing up for a stronger global showing as they head to Croatia for the International Handball Federation (IHF) Beach Handball World Championships, scheduled from June 23 to 28.
Speaking at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum, Philippine Handball Federation Inc. president Ernesto “Jay” Adalem shared his optimism for a breakthrough performance on the world stage.
“We are hoping to do better than the last time. I’m very confident that we can flourish in this sport,” Adalem said.
The nationals have undergone rigorous training to eclipse their 12th-place performance at the 2024 tournament in Fuzhou, which was topped by Germany.
For the upcoming tournament, the Philippines finds itself in a challenging Group D alongside 2024 silver medalists Argentina, Denmark, and Benin. The team must secure a spot in the top three of their pool to move on to the next round.
“That’s the goal. We want to surpass our finish last time. Right now, we are ranked No. 12 in the world and No. 2 in Asia behind Vietnam,” Adalem added.
Joining Adalem at the sports forum were head coach Joanna Franquelli, playing coach AA Adriano, alongside national athletes Za Mateo, Joe Ong, and Shang Berte.
Beach handball is an action-packed sport played on sand, matching the high intensity of basketball and football. The game consists of two 10-minute halves, with each side fielding four court players and a goaltender.
Adalem remains hopeful that the national team’s international strides will spark greater local interest in the discipline.
“And ang atin dito is sana makilala ang handball. Hindi kilala ng mga Filipino. But right now, gumaganda na ang laro natin lalo na sa beach handball,” he said.