Alyssa Valdez bucking thumb injury to lead Philippines in Asian U-23 volleyball

Alyssa Valdez played with a heavily-bandaged right hand in the Philippines' game against the towering Kazakhstan squad in the Asian U-23 Women's Volleyball Championship on Saturday at PhilSports Arena.

The volleyball superstar hurt her thumb against Iran in the country's opening game, but still finished with a monster output of 31 points despite the team's four-set loss.

Against the formidable Kazakhs, "Bagyong Baldo" played through the injury and still managed to finish with a game-high 19 points.

"Ayoko lang na pipilitin tapos maa-aggravate 'yung injury niya. Kaya lagi ko siyang tinatanong," said head coach Roger Gorayeb about the decision to field in his best scorer during the game.

The coach said he did not want to risk losing the services of Valdez, as the team still has more games to play once they win against Kazakhstan.

"Sabi ko dun sa therapist niya, i-heavy tape mo. Pag nasaktan ka Alyssa sasabihin mo sa 'kin, ipapasok natin si (EJ) Laure," the coach said.

The volleyball fans were eager to see the UAAP Most Valuable Player in action, but Gorayeb they would not force her to play if necessary.

"Wala naman nang dapat patunayan pa si Alyssa e. Kailangan lang siya hanggang dun sa dulo nang laro. Ano pa ba namang hihilingan mo sa batang ito?" he said.

Valdez, meanwhile, downplayed her injury and credited her teammates for giving her the strength to continue playing.

"Adrenaline na rin siguro po," she said about how she still had a good performance. "Iba 'yung pain siguro pag naglalaro ka with the teammates you see na sobrang inspiring na maglaro." -- JST, GMA News