PHL Volcanoes brush past rugby favorites, win silver at Asian 7s Series

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV While a lot of Filipinos tuned in to Gilas’ performance in FIBA Asia, another Philippine team was beating the odds and making history in Borneo. The Philippine Volcanoes, despite being one of the lower ranked teams, clinched the silver medal in the 2011 Asian Men’s Rugby 7s Championships held in Kota Kinabalu on September 24 to 25. Ranked seventh in Asia, the Philippines beat Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and China en route to competing in their first ever Cup finals. With the win, the team booked one of the few spots to the Hong Kong 7s to be held in March 2012. The team needed to be in the top six to enter the Hong Kong 7s, the biggest of the nine events of the International Rugby Board. Unlike the other IRB Sevens tournaments that invite 16 nations, the Hong Kong 7s have 24 of the best rugby teams in the world, with the winner emerging after three days of competition. At the Shanghai 7s last August, the Volcanoes were unsuccessful in getting their target position, placing 7th in the tournament. Earlier in the tournament, Justin “The Flying Jeepney" Coveney and Matt Saunders led the nationals to a 28-14 win over Southeast Asia rival Malaysia. After defeating the host nation, the Volcanoes’ next assignment was China. They have never beaten the powerhouse sporting nation in rugby 7s after four meetings in the 2010 and 2011 Asian Championships. The Philippines added Luke Matthews to the starting lineup to keep up with China’s speed on the outside backs. Matthews scored the first try which was followed up by Chris “Hitchanator" Hitch to tie the game at 14 in fulltime. The two teams went into extra time with Volcano Harry Morris scoring the golden point under the posts, bringing the Philippines to its first Cup finals in the tourney. The Finals saw the Volcanoes pitted against Japan whose members all play professional rugby. Team Philippines eventually gave in to the number one ranked rugby country in Asia, finishing second in Asian Men’s 7s Championships. Coach Matt Cullen said that the Volcanoes have been waiting for a break like this for the past two years and this tournament has proven that the Philippines can compete with the best teams in Asia. He added that this was only the beginning of winning Filipino rugby teams. And the Flying Jeepney’s promise to their supporters? “The Philippine Volcanoes are going to erupt with Pinoy pride at the HK7s," Coveney tweeted. - Mav C. Gonzales/Renee A. Fopalan, OMG, GMA News