What Kobe Shinwa University lacked in height, they more than made up for with skill and speed in their 2025 Premier Volleyball League Invitational opener.
Still, for team captain Sakura Furuta, facing a tall ZUS Coffee squad made for a challenging debut for the Japanese collegiate team.
The Thunderbelles, despite missing 10 players — including their tallest, 6-foot-2 Thea Gagate — still had six-footer Riza Nogales and 5-foot-10 Sharya Ancheta.
Even their wingers — Kate Santiago (5-foot-7), Wielyn Estoque (5-foot-7), and Gayle Pascual (5-foot-8) — tallied heights that dwarfed the Kobe Shinwa team, which averages just 5-foot-6.
The college team’s tallest player, middle blocker Reira Miyazaki, stands at 5-foot-8, matching the height of some of ZUS Coffee’s wing spikers.
“ZUS Coffee has many tall players. In the west side of Japan, where we play, there aren’t a lot of tall university players. Our strategy today was focused on getting past the tall players,” said Furuta, who recorded 18 excellent sets while all Kobe Shinwa position players scored at least one point.
(C) PVL Images
Head coach Kiyokazu Yamamoto, no stranger to Philippine volleyball, shared a similar observation.
Yamamoto previously coached Kobe Shinwa during their participation in the 2017 Invitational Cup of the now-defunct Philippine Superliga.
“It’s been 8 years since I came here. After 8 years, I saw Philippine Volleyball and how the Philippine volleyball has changed,” said Yamamoto.
“Yes, the level of the defense has improved a lot. And the height of the players has increased a lot. Not only the middle players, but also the side players. The number of players with high performance has increased a lot,” he added.
Kobe Shinwa will face even taller teams in their next four matches against PLDT, Creamline, Cignal, and Chery Tiggo.
In their upcoming game against the High Speed Hitters on Monday, they will face 6-foot-3 Alas Pilipinas middle blocker Dell Palomata; six-footers Majoy Baron and Mika Reyes; and tall wingers Kianna Dy and Alleiah Malaluan, both standing at 5-foot-11.
“I’m very interested in that game against PLDT, and I’m looking forward to seeing how well we will perform. We will do our best,” said Yamamoto.
