And no less than a final stint is being eyed by the national coaching staff, owing to the team’s no-nonsense training and exposure here and abroad plus the support it has been getting from the private sector, particularly Shakey’s Pizza.
"Our goal is to make the finals this year and see if we can win the gold from there," said RP team coach Ramil de Jesus, tasked to lead the bid to bring back the country’s glory days in women’s volleyball, at least in the region.
Sure, Thailand, which dominated the sport in the last four staging of the SEAG, remains the team to beat in the Manila SEA Games slated Nov. 27-Dec. 5. But scouting reports say some of the team’s key players are injured, thus giving the Philippines, a power in the region in the early 90s, and the other SEAG bets a chance to end the Thais’ supremacy in women’s volleyball.
"Thailand remains strong but we have a strong chance of beating them because most of their veterans are injured," added de Jesus.
The Nationals, led by Cherry Macatangay, Michelle Carolino and Roxanne Pimentel, will get the chance to test the Thais’ mettle plus two other teams before the SEA Games when they play in an exhibition tournament dubbed the Shakey’s Invitational Volleyball beginning Oct. 7 at the Rizal Coliseum.
The event, organized by the Philippine Volleyball Federation together with Solar Sports and with Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. as event coordinator, serves as part of the RP team’s buildup for the SEA Games.
Shakey’s Pizza is putting up the three-day tournament ending Oct. 9 to provide the Nationals a series of tune-up games to toughen them up for the SEA Games.
It was also the country’s top pizza chain which revived women’s volleyball here through its staging of the Shakey’s V-League.
"The game plan for Shakey’s is to have a regular and viable women’s volleyball league that will develop and hone the talent and skills of the players to prepare them for future regional and Asian competitions," said
SVMGI chairman Moying Martelino.
The upcoming Shakey’s tournament should indeed give the RP spikers the exposure they need after seeing action in the World Qualifying in July and the 13th Asian Championship last month. After the Shakey’s Volleyball Invitational, the RP squad will train in Japan from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1.
The other members of the squad are Mayette Carolino, Tina Salak, Mary Jean Balse, Maureen Penetrante, Shermain Penano, Suzaine Roces, Lali Penaflorida, Desiree Hernandez, Rubie de Leon and Monica Aleta.