Much of the volleyball community was thrown into an uproar Tuesday evening as the Asian Volleyball Confederation officially announced the draw for its five tournaments this year.
The Philippines was not part of the draw for the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship (April 18-26 in Taipei), the Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship (April 27-May 5 in Tianjin), the Asian Women’s Under-23 Volleyball Championship (July 13-21 in Hanoi), the Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship (August 17-25 in Seoul), and the Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship (September 13-21 in Tehran).
When both the country’s Men’s and Women’s National Volleyball Teams began tryouts late January, the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. expressed their desire to play in these tournaments and other AVC-sanctioned events for both the men’s and women’s teams.
AVC events are crucial for improving the country’s standing on the International Volleyball Federation’s rankings.
Reportedly, the country is skipping the events to avoid being scouted.
LVPI president Peter Cayco stated through numerous outlets that their focus is heavily on the Southeast Asian Games, slated on December. Playing in AVC events, Cayco said, would have allowed the Philippines’ Southeast Asian neighbors to get a leg up on scouting.
Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, the three powerhouse teams in Southeast Asia, will all also be participating in the AVC tournaments.
Cayco insisted that the LVPI is getting help from the AVC in finding training camps and other tournaments that will both help prepare the National Team for the SEA Games and keep them away from the eyes of other Southeast Asian teams.
