Valdez-led Phl lands in tough U-23 group

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo hotshot Alyssa Valdez will lead a soon-to-be-formed Philippine team slugging it out with the region’s best in the Asian Under-23 Women’s Volleyball Championship slated May 1-9 at three venues – MOA Arena, Cuneta Astrodome and Philsports Arena.

“Alyssa (Valdez) along with Bea de Leon and Jia Morado will play for the national team,” said Ateneo manager and Shakey’s V-League representative Tony Liao. 

But the Nationals face an uphill battle after ending up in the tough Group A that includes powerhouse Iran and Kazakhstan.

They will battle the Iranians right on opening day and will clash with the Kazakhs the next day before taking a bye on May 3. The top two teams from three other groups will advance to the knockout quarterfinal round.

Aside from Valdez, Morado and de Leon, the team will also be composed of National University’s Jaja and Dindin Santiago, Far Eastern University’s Tin Agno and San Sebastian’s Alyssa Eroa.

The rest will be picked from the current pool of 20 coming from the UAAP, NCAA, Shakey’s V-League and Philippine Super Liga.

Sources said La Salle’s Mika Reyes, Kim Fajardo and Ara Galang have been invited to join the pool.

The team will be handled by NU’s Roger Gorayeb and Perpetual Help’s Sammy Acaylar.

The inaugural tournament offers a ticket to the FIVB U-24 Women’s Championship set Aug. 12-19, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey.

China, which ruled the 17th Asian Women’s U-20 Volleyball Championship, heads Group B together with India and Macau while Japan leads Group C with Chinese Taipei and Maldives.

Group D, meanwhile, will be composed of Southeast Asian superpower Thailand, South Korea and Uzbekistan.

Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Zonal executive vice president Shanrit Wongprasert supervised the ceremony together with AVC development and marketing director Ramon Suzara and newly-recognized Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI) president Joey Romasanta, who vowed to send the best and the brightest young players in this highly-competitive tournament.

No names have been mentioned yet for the national team since most of the players in the 20-man pool are still competing in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

National University coach Roger Gorayeb will handle the team to be assisted by University of Perpetual Help Dalta System mentor Sammy Acaylar.

“Rest assured that we will be sending our best players,” said Romasanta, moments after Wongprasert gave the formal recognition to LVPI from both the AVC and FIVB.

“I have already seen the list prepared by Roger and Sammy and all the big names in collegiate volleyball are there. We’re really looking forward to a successful hosting of this tournament.”

Suzara, the former Philippine Amateur Volleyball Association secretary-general and current Philippine Superliga president, said the short period of preparation could work against the Filipinos, but their fighting heart and home court advantage could pull them through.

“This is a historic day for the Philippine volleyball since the country is pioneering the most prestigious tournament for the best U23 in the Asian region,”  Suzara said. “We, Filipinos, have a never-say-die attitude. Our opponents could be taller and more powerful than us, but I expect the players to come up with a good fight since the crowd will be their side. It’s going to be an exciting tournament, that’s for sure.”

The Nationals will start their campaign against Iran on the opening day before facing Kazakhstan the following day.

The top two in both groups will advance to the Round of 8 on May 4 and 5 and will have a brief respite on May 6 before the semifinals on May 7 and 8.

The final game is set on May 9 as well as other classification matches.