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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Volleyball devider PH men's volleyball team to compete in Asian Games

PH men's volleyball team to compete in Asian Games

Published Jul 30, 2023 07:00 am
For the first time in 49 years, the Philippines will be sending a men’s volleyball team in the Asian Games when Hangzhou, China hosts the 19th edition in September. The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) announced this Sunday, July 30, with veterans Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo and rising star Steven Rotter being targeted to spearhead the squad in the quadrennial regional tournament. The last time the country played in the Asiad was in 1974 in Tehran, Iran where it finished sixth. Its best performance out of four total appearances was a fourth-place finish in the 1958 edition in Tokyo, Japan. However, at the Far Eastern Games, which is a precursor of the Asiad, the team went on winning the gold medal in four editions, the last time in the 1925 meet that the country hosted. The PNVF hopes this edition’s crew will make an impact following its performance in the ongoing Southeast Asian Volleyball League (V.League) in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Though still in the hunt for a breakthrough win, the bulk of the Filipino spikers currently competing in the said tournament will be tasked to carry the country’s colors in the Asiad. The country, however, will be in for a tall order in Hangzhou after being bunched with Volleyball Nations League (VNL) bronze medalist and 16-time Asian Games champion Japan, reigning Southeast Asian Games titlist Indonesia and Afghanistan. Still, the PNVF is optimistic it could pull off surprises, especially with Bagunas, Espejo and Rotter at the forefront of the squad. Bagunas and Espejo missed the SEAG in Cambodia last May, but returned to the team while Rotter has been a revelation so far since the said biennial meet, the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup and the SEA V.League. The PH team finished 10th in its AVC debut and fifth in the SEAG. In the second leg of the SEA V.League, the local spikers after a winless Leg 1 campaign in Jakarta last week, have been showing huge improvement so far.

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