National players who competed in the recent 31st Southeast Asian Games will suit up for the teams that will be competing in a series of exhibition matches against top squads to jumpstart the country’s hosting of two Volleyball Nations League legs this month.
Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) President Tats Suzara disclosed this Tuesday, June 7 adding that it will serve as a challenge in line with the association's expected reorganization of the team composition next month.
The women’s team, which finished fourth out of five teams in the said biennial meet, is expected to have Jaja Santiago, Alyssa Valdez, Dawn Macandili, Mylene Paat and Ces Molina, among others, while the men’s squad, which finished fifth, is slated to have Bryan Bagunas and John Vic De Guzman at the forefront of the lineup.
The women’s team will first play against Thailand on Saturday, June 11 and Japan on Sunday, June 12 while the men’s crew will go up against Japan on June 16 and Germany on June 27.
All four matches will be played at The Arena in San Juan City.
Meanwhile, the country will host Week 2 of the women’s preliminary round from June 14 to 19, and the men’s pool matches from June 21 to 26 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Women’s teams that will be competing are three-time VNL winner and Tokyo Olympic champion United States, reigning Asian champion Japan, Belgium, Southeast Asian titlist Thailand, China, Bulgaria, Poland and Canada.
Men’s teams are composed of Tokyo Olympics winner France, Japan, Slovenia, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and China.
Suzara hopes the country’s hosting of the VNL is a major component in helping them strengthen PNVF’s programs while also hyping up the interest of the sport to the fans.
Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto, who was present at Tuesday’s press conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, also thanked the PNVF for choosing the city to host the said tournament as it aligns their sports programs.