Forty-eight hours after they arrived, Brazil, Poland, Korea and Dominican Republic try to ignore jetlag, lack of sleep and even the weather as they plunge into their respective practice games at the taraflex and wood courts of the De La Salle University, Brent School and the Philsports Arena.
"It’s not everyday that you get to meet the best of the volleyball world," said Department of Tourism secretary Obet Pagdanganan who welcomed the star-studded field in yesterday’s meet-the-players press conference at the Holiday Inn Gallerian Manila.
Between practice and sleep, the teams scouted their opponents. Scattered among the four talent-laden teams are players with titles and awards tucked under their belts, individuals that can spell the difference for their respective teams in the three-day event.
Poland, the team with the highest ceiling at 187.42 cm and the only country that failed to qualify for the Olympics after their bronze finish in 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 1968 Mexico edition, cannot be easily dismissed as the underdogs.
The 2003 Women’s European Volleyball Champions, now being handled by Andrzej Niemczyk, a cancer-survivor appointed by Polish Volleyball Federation following the resignation of Zbigniew Krzyzanowski, will be spearheaded by 34-year old Best Setter Magdalena Sliwa, and Best Scorer / Most Valuable Player awardee Malgorzeta Glinka, Magorzata Niemczyk-Wolska, daughter of Niemczyk, Agata Mroz, Katarzyna Skowronska, and the 2003 Junior World Championships bronze medallist Anna Podolec and Izabela Zebrowska.