The two guest teams that will plunge right into the semifinal round of the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference were revealed on Thursday.
Japan’s Kurashiki Ablaze and Vietnam’s Kinh Bac Bac Ninh are ready to inject excitement into the ongoing mid-season conference of the league, which is currently on a break for the men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) competition.
The elimination matches will resume on July 11, featuring 11 teams divided into groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next phase along with the two guest teams.
In last year’s PVL Invitational, Japan withdrew at the last minute due to several members of the Kobe Shinwa team testing positive for Covid-19. This resulted in the KingWhale Taipei becoming the sole foreign guest squad. Although the Taiwanese team made it to the finals, they ultimately lost to the Creamline Cool Smashers.
However, the Kurashiki Ablaze side brings a lot of promise with their talented hitters, including Saya Taniguchi, Sayaka Tanida, Yukino Yano, and Saki Tanabe, as well as skillful opposite strikers Asaka Tamaru, Reina Fujiwara, and Honoka Okuda, who are expected to lead their charge.
The team, which competes in the Japan V.League Division 3, achieved impressive results, topping the 13th National Six-Man Volleyball League (Western tournament), finishing second in the 12th National Volleyball League, and securing third place in the 13th National Volleyball League Grand Champion Match.
On the other hand, Kinh Bac Bac Ninh earned recognition when it secured first place and the right to compete in Vietnam’s National Championship in 2018. Despite facing strong teams, they won the bronze medal in 2019 and consistently ranked among the top three in the following two years.
Meanwhile, the race for the semifinal berths intensifies starting on Tuesday with a busy schedule of four games. The action kicks off with the Petro Gazz-Farm Fresh clash at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Cignal-Foton duel at 12 noon. The Akara-Chery Tiggo encounter takes place at 4 p.m., and the highly anticipated Choco Mucho-F2 Logistics face-off concludes the day at 6:30 p.m. at the Philsports Arena.
Creamline currently leads Group A with a 2-0 record, followed by PLDT (1-0). Chery Tiggo, Akari, and Gerflor hold similar 0-1 records. In Group B, F2 Logistics and Choco Mucho have won their first two matches, making their upcoming clash a must-watch event.
Petro Gazz and Cignal have each won one of their first two matches, while Foton and Farm Fresh are yet to secure a victory in two games.
