Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara will announce the players who will represent the country in the upcoming Southeast Asian V. League in Vietnam and Thailand.
Suzara stated that the team will consist of collegiate standouts as the federation is still in discussions with the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), which recently faced sanctions from the PNVF for organizing the Invitational Conference during the ‘national team period.’
“There’s a Southeast Asian V. League in Vietnam and Thailand next month. We have a team, and I will announce next week who will compose the team. Definitely not PVL players,” Suzara said on Sunday.
The PNVF president is also considering the possibility of including collegiate players if the country is awarded the hosting rights for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship.
If the PNVF wins the bidding against Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, the Philippines will receive an automatic spot in the world championships.
Suzara revealed that he has already met with Philippine women’s national volleyball team head coach Jorge Souza de Brito and university representatives, where he outlined his plan for the national team’s formation for the potential competition in the world championships.
“We had a meeting with the national team coaches and some university representatives, and my objective is to have a university team so as not to disrupt the PVL schedule,” Suzara said.
However, Suzara does not rule out the possibility of involving professional players in the future.
“Of course, we welcome them if they are ready to perform. But the problem is the PVL calendar. If I have all-collegiate players who are programmed for the UAAP, this is the cooperation that we will pursue for the meantime.”
Recently, the Philippine women’s national volleyball team participated in the 2023 AVC Cup for Women in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, where they finished in seventh place.
Photo by SMM
The team included professional players Faith Nisperos, Bang Pineda, Ezra Madrigal, Eli Soyud, Erika Raagas, Djanel Cheng, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Jules Samonte, and Shaya Adorador.
Collegiate stars Roma Doromal, AC Miner, Riza Nogales, and Lia Pelaga were also selected by the PNVF for the AVC Cup.
Though many of the UAAP’s best players have already moved on to the pros, there are still some who have collegiate years left like Angel Canino, Thea Gagate, and Alleiah Malaluan; and Mhicaela Belen and Alyssa Solomon of National University, among others
“We will form a team… a team that can compete, and we will start once we are awarded the hosting rights. We will put together a team in the next two years, and the FIVB will support us in training for the first-ever women’s world championship to be held in the Philippines in 2025.”
With reports from Aeron Valderrama
