Marck Espejo finally gets another chance to play abroad after his inclusion in the 32-man pool that will compose the Asian Quota tryout of the Korean Volleyball League men’s division.
And he’s not about to let this one go after failing to secure a spot in Volleyball Thailand League this season due to contract problems.
“I hope makabalik talaga ako sa abroad ulit kasi for this season nagkaproblema. I hope mag-tuloy-tuloy ulit,” shared Espejo on Monday after Cignal’s straight sets win against Iloilo in the 2023 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference round-robin semis.
The 26-year-old outside spiker is no stranger to being an import after having stints in Japan, Bahrain, and Thailand. He now seeks to conquer new territory in South Korea.
Espejo first played for Oita Miyoshi in Japan V.League Division 1 in the 2018-19 season before suiting up for Visakha in VTL in 2020.
Photo from V.League
His scoring exploits then brought him to Bani Jamra in Bahrain in late 2020. Then he found his way back to Japan with FC Tokyo in the 2021-22 season.
Photo from FC Tokyo
Only Espejo, Bryan Bagunas, Jau Umandal, Madz Gampong, and Jayvee Sumagaysay have made it abroad in the men’s division.
Umandal – along with first-timers JP Bugaoan and Manuel Sumanguid – are also part of the tryouts taking place on April 25 to 27 in Jeju Gymnasium.
With this, Espejo is crossing his fingers that all of them make the cut and get drafted into the KVL.
“Syempre masaya ako kasi may opportunity ulit na maglaro abroad and hindi lang ako yung magtatry doon, marami kaming mga Pilipino.”
But with a month left before the tryouts, Espejo’s focus remains on the Spikers’ Turf, where they are aiming to reclaim the title they lost last year to National University.
Cignal is on the verge of another Finals appearance.
“Focus muna ako dito sa Spikers’ Turf. And kung ano man yung maging resulta dito, magiging motivation na rin sa akin papunta sa Korea tryout,” added the Spikers’ Turf five-time Conference MVP.
